Butterflies
by Shattered Midnight Dreams
Summary: SxS "Go to Hell, Li." "Only if you come with me." A promotion at work means that Sakura Kinomoto has to work with Li Syaoran, the man she loves to hate. Or is it loves to love? After a while, she's not so sure... Updated ch32 Jan 16th
1. Proposition

**Butterflies**

_Chapter one ~ Proposition_

Kinomoto Sakura was not one of those girls who were easily irritated, but _man _did that guy have the ability to annoy her! It was rather surprising that steam wasn't billowing from her ears as she stomped towards the elevator.

She could not _believe _that he had the nerve to ask her out. Ask her out in front of the whole office, just to irritate her. Just so he could embarrass her. Damn him!

She pressed the down button and stood waiting, tapping her foot anxiously.

_'Like he didn't know that I would say no!' _she thought. Her grip tightened on her coat as she thought about him. Thought about the guy that was the only bad thing in her life. She had a great, well-paying job that she enjoyed, part-owned a lovely home with her best friend and had a loving, affectionate cat… But he was the fly in the ointment.

The amber-eyed man named Syaoran Li.

Her fists clenched of their own accord, her long red fingernails piercing the palms of her hands rather painfully. He _loved _to embarrass her, tease her and generally make a fool of her in any way. It had been like that ever since she had first met him, when he had tripped her up for no reason as she left. Of course she had had to get him back for that, then he had to get revenge, etc. It just spiralled out of control from there.

"Miss Kinomoto!" A breathless voice called, and she heard running footsteps. She looked up to see her boss, Mr. Ueda, running towards her, looking immensely relieved at something.

"Miss Kinomoto," he said breathlessly upon reaching her, "I thought I had missed you there!"

Mr. Ueda was a kind man, around 5' 8", with blonde hair and a permanently smiling face. Sakura liked him a lot, and thought herself fortunate that she got on well with her boss.

"Is anything wrong, Mr Ueda?" she asked, her brow furrowed at her boss' odd behaviour.

"No, No! It's just that I have been monitoring your progress, and you are doing exceedingly well. So well, in fact, that I think you should be promoted!"

His news came as rather a shock to Sakura, who had not been expecting anything like this.

"W-wow! I… Don't know what to say!" she gasped.

"Well, Miss Kinomoto, between you and me, it's a heck of a lot more money," he winked conspirationally.

"What does this new job entail?" Sakura asked, careful to keep her head and ask appropriate questions.

"It will make you 'Deputy Head of the marketing and advertising department'. It means that you will help devise television advertisements, assist with promotion of products, etc."

"So, I suppose that will mean working with the Head of the department, won't it?" Sakura asked calmly, resisting the urge to jump up and down and do a victory dance. Advertising was what she was really interested in, and this new position would give her the chance to work in that.

"Yes," Mr Ueda answered.

"Who is that?" Sakura asked.

"Mr…" he screwed up his eyes in thought, "Li Syaoran, I think."

Sakura gasped, her emerald eyes widening. Trust him to wreck her big opportunity!

"Are you quite alright, Miss Kinomoto?" Mr Ueda asked concernedly.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I will need some time to think about this," she said quickly, her mind already weighing the pros and cons.

"Of course. I understand- this will, after all, mean that you will have to leave your current co-workers and friends," the blonde man nodded wisely.

Little did he know that it wasn't leaving her current co-workers that she was worried about, but who would become her new co-worker!

"I'll give you the papers in the morning, Miss Kinomoto. Goodnight," Mr Ueda said, before she told him 'goodnight', also and he walked back up the corridor he had come down.

She stood for a few more moments, her mind working frantically. On the one hand, the new job would pay more, give her a title and let her work in the field that she was really interested in. But, on the other hand, if she took up her boss' offer then it would mean working with Syaoran Li. Although that was only one con compared to three pros, it was enough to make her have to seriously consider.

Finally an elevator came to her floor, the familiar bleep jolting her from her silent contemplation. She looked up to see… Dammit!

"Miss Kinomoto, are you getting in this elevator or not?" Syaoran Li asked, a smirk evident on his face.

_'That's exactly what I was wondering,' _Sakura thought as she glared at him and boarded the elevator, checking to see if Syaoran had already pushed the button for the ground floor.

They descended in silence for some time, Sakura checking her watch. She was going to be late home again. Tomoyo would wonder if there was something wrong.

_'Six floors down, seven to go,' _Sakura thought to herself. Just seven more floors…

_'Are we just not going to talk about what happened earlier?' _Syaoran wondered. Now, that sounded odd. He and Kinomoto _never _talked, at least, their conversation never got beyond insults.

It was strange that they weren't picking anyone up on their way down. Sakura supposed that they were the last employees left in the building. Not that that was anything new- she was often the last one out due to the hectic nature of her job. Unfortunately, it often required her to do a lot of paperwork.

The elevator shuddered to a halt, and Sakura looked up and smiled.

"I guess this is the ground floor!" she said cheerfully to nobody in particular, and stepped forward to leave. However, she realised that something was wrong when the doors didn't open, and the usual female voice didn't say: "Ground floor," like it always did. Something was wrong.

She turned sharply around.

"Why didn't the doors open, Li?" she asked of her chestnut-haired companion while shooting him a suspicious look, as if accusing him of doing something to the elevator.

Syaoran sighed.

"My guess is that we have become stuck somewhere between two floors."

"That's _great_, Li," Sakura said sarcastically, "now tell me what we should do about it!"

"There's nothing that we _can _do about it," he replied, those amber eyes regarding her critically.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, her grip tightening on the red coat slung over her arm, emerald eyes widening fearfully.

"When I _say _that we can't do anything about it, I _mean _that we can't do anything about it," Syaoran snapped irritably.

"But s-surely we could-"

"No! No, Kinomoto," he said, but his voice was softer then before, "we will just have to press the emergency button and explain the problem. Then whoever is o the other end will come and fix it."

Sakura nodded. That made sense. She clasped her hands tightly together to hide the fact that they were shaking, and let her eyes flick to anything except the chestnut-haired man in the opposite corner.

Syaoran became increasingly worried at Sakura's panicky behaviour. Sure, it was normal to be frightened when trapped in an elevator, but there was something altogether _different _about Sakura's actions… The fear was raw, emotional, making her gasp, making her hands shake, making those eyes widen… She was on edge.

"Kinomoto- are you… Okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay!" she snapped.

"I'm trapped in an elevator with a man who is possibly the most irritating, obnoxious slug I have ever met!"

She was attempting to sound confident, but her voice was wobbling, and her breathing rate increased even more.

He was now beginning to panic even more, and with good reason.

"You're not okay, are you?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, said quickly:

"You're claustrophobic, aren't you? Listen, sit down and put your head between your legs!"

But it was too late- Sakura slumped in a dead faint, saved from hitting her head on the floor only by Syaoran's quick dive to catch her.

_'Damn it!'_ he cursed silently as he glanced around the elevator for anything that would assist him. Should he call an ambulance?

_'No time for that now,' _he thought. Laying Sakura's limp body carefully upon the floor of elevator, he pressed the button, his heart hammering. Would anybody even still be there to receive his plea for help? The security guards, maybe?

"Hello? I'm trapped in an elevator with a girl and she has fainted- we need help as soon as possible…"


	2. Sleeping Pain in The Ass Who Snores Lots

"Okay, son, just don't panic," Syaoran recognised the calm, steady voice of the most senior security guard on the other end of the intercom, wherever that was.

"I know that it's easy for me to say that, but you must remain calm. What caused her to faint?" He continued.

"Claustrophobia, I think," Syaoran answered, sending a quick glance in Sakura's direction, as if to check that she was, indeed, still out cold.

"Thought so. Listen, keep her warm, and we'll call out for people from the company to repair it and get you out. What floor are you stuck on?"

"I'm not quite sure. About the third or fourth, I suppose," Syaoran answered uncertainly, his finger was starting to hurt from holding the button down.

"Okay. Just keep her warm, be ready for the event that she may wake up, keep calm and we will do our part to get you out of there."

The security guard let go of the button on his end, and Syaoran took his finger off the yellow emergency button.

Syaoran knelt down, took Sakura's red coat from her grasp and laid it over her before taking off his own coat and using it to cover the places that the red coat missed.

He began to pace around the small space of the elevator, checking his watch repeatedly, before collapsing down beside Sakura in exhaustion after twenty minutes.

God, but he was _bored_. At least if Kinomoto was awake he could make her mad, and it would be something to do.

After two hours, he was tempted to press the emergency button again. What was happening? Where was the rescue crew? Sakura was still unconscious and he had no way to wake her, but she sure looked comfortable down there…. And, despite his best efforts, the world went black as he lay down and fell asleep beside her, questions still zooming around his mind.

Oh God… Sakura's head hurt horribly as her eyes opened, causing her to clutch her hands to the sides of her head, groaning as she sat up, acutely aware of a warm weight beside her. When she saw the metal inside of an elevator, she backed up against the wall, the coats falling away from her. Her chest heaved as she panted, sweat breaking out on her forehead as her clammy hands began to shake…

Li was the person beside her, a fact that only served to unnerve her even more as she watched his chest rise and fall steadily. He muttered something in his sleep, but she couldn't hear what it was. Then he talked louder, a word that was clearly "Kinomoto," before jolting awake, suddenly worried, sitting bolt upright, amber eyes worried.

"Oh, thank God," he said upon spotting Sakura in the corner, "there you are. I was really worried… Er, I mean, you fainted. Are you okay?" He asked, his voice managing to change from relieved to embarrassed to gruff in one statement, quite amazing.

It was all coming rushing back to her now, Li asking her out in front of the entire office, Mr. Ueda and the offered promotion, getting into the elevator, having it stop, and… Fainting…

"Are you panicking again? Stick your head between your legs, quickly!" Li instructed.

She did as instructed, and, although the sensation of blood flowing to her head was unpleasant; at least she was still conscious.

"It all came back to me just there," Sakura began, her head still between her legs.

"What did, Kinomoto?" Li asked in an uninterested voice.

"You… Asking me out, in front of everyone. Why did you do that? It was so humiliating…"

"Well, Kinomoto," he said with a smirk, "that was sort of the idea."

Well, although he would never admit it, being turned down, although he had been expecting it, was horrible.

"Turning someone down was an awful thing to have to do. Even if the person I had to turn down was an asshole like you, Li," Sakura said, her honey-coloured hair now towards his face as she turned her head to stare around the small metal box that was the elevator.

"Yeah, well, I was expecting it. It's not like it hurt."

"Oh, I'm sure it didn't," Sakura said sweetly, now getting up off the floor and on to her feet, "after all, girls must turn you down all the time."

Syaoran scowled as he also got to his feet, brushing himself off.

"What, have you no comeback?" Sakura asked, her tone that of fake astonishment.

"You're really pushing it, Kinomoto," he muttered.

Sakura turned to him and fixed him with that dazzling smile of hers.

"Thank you," she replied, causing Syaoran to roll his eyes.

"Have you pressed this button yet?" Sakura asked, her tone suddenly serious, gesturing towards the yellow 'emergency' button.

"Yes, but that was hours ago, and nothing has happened yet."

He reached forward past her and pressed down the button.

"Hello?" he asked experimentally.

"Hey, is that the guy from earlier?" the voice of the senior security guard asked, his tone anxious instead of calming as usual.

"Yes! What's happening? It's been hours, and we're STILL here!"

"Yes, about that, we've been trying to get in touch with you, but it was impossible. We just had to wait until you contacted us. How is the girl?"

Syaoran blushed, now Sakura would know that he had worried about her.

"She's fine," he answered gruffly.

"Listen, I phoned the company, and they can't send anyone out. It's too late- we will have to wait until morning."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you and that girl will have to stay there tonight."

Behind him, Sakura gasped.

"You cannot be serious-" Syaoran began, only to be cut off by the security guard, his voice now back to its usual calm tone,

"Mr, er, whatever your name is, I am one hundred percent serious."

Syaoran sighed.

"Okay, then. If there's nothing you can do…"

"No!" Sakura yelled, moving quickly towards the intercom speaker.

"Listen, buddy, you can't leave me in here all night with this psycho! He's totally irritating and I think that he is capable of murder!"

"Oh, is that the girl who passed out? Actually, I thought she was girlfriend!" the man said in a voice that indicated he was smiling.

"Did you tell him that I was your girlfriend?" Sakura squawked at Syaoran in disbelief.

"Of course not! Why would I want a girlfriend like _you_?"

"Hello! Kids? I'm sorry I made such a grievous error, okay? Just try to get some sleep, and I promise that someone will be along in the morning to sort out this awful mess," the guard attempted to pacify the two bickering employees.

Syaoran let go of the emergency button in disgust. This was supposed to be a high-tech company with the best of everything, and they couldn't even rescue two people from a stuck elevator?

"Tomoyo will be having kittens right now," Sakura mumbled to nobody in particular, referring to her housemate, Daidouji Tomoyo.

"Oh, wait, I can call her!" Sakura announced triumphantly to again, nobody in particular, as she pulled her cel from her purse. After dialling their number, she waited before frowning and removing it from her ear, quickly spotting the problem.

"Or, at least, I could if metal boxes stuck half-way between two floors got any reception!" she ranted in annoyance, shoving her phone back into her purse and flopping on to the floor.

"Talking to yourself, Kinomoto? Don't you know that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness?" Syaoran asked dryly from his position, sitting in the opposite corner.

"Shut up, Li, I don't have the energy to argue with you right now," Sakura said weakly, her head clutched in her hands. This was all too much- the offered promotion, feeling claustrophobic (although she was okay now, and not so panicked), fainting, being stuck in an elevator with the world's most irritating person…

Hadn't that security person said something about getting to sleep? Why was she so tired? A quick glance at her watch told her everything- twelve midnight. Combined with the exhausting nature of her day, the time explained why she so desperately wanted to sleep. Making herself a pillow using her arms and red jacket, she lay down and the elevator became nothing more than a distant memory as she dreamt herself away from there.

_'It's easy for her,' _Li thought as he watched Sakura drift into oblivion, her high-heeled shoes casually kicked off and lying beside her. With nothing to do, and sleep not beckoning to him at all, he simply watched the rise and fall of Sakura's chest.

He watched her for God knew how long, not realising that he had fallen asleep until he opened his eyes presumably hours later to see Sakura, _still asleep_. No, wait a moment, she must have woken up and then fallen asleep again, for her pantyhose were bundled up in her shoes, her blouse sleeves had been rolled up, the top few buttons undone in her blouse, and her honey-coloured hair freed from its previous hold on top of her head, bangs fluttering slightly each time she breathed.

She looked a picture of comfortably-sleeping restfulness and peace. Damn her.

At least she hadn't woken him up out of spite, as he might have done to her. Returning the favour, he remained silent as he sleepily checked his watch, slowly running a hand through his messy chestnut hair.

Four A.M. It was impossible to tell in the elevator what time it was, as the artificial light remained the same no matter what was happening to the sky outside. What time would the security guard call the company again? Nine A.M.? Nine was usually the time when most businesses opened.

He thought it odd that a company like that didn't have an emergency number for incidents like this, but some places weren't very well-run. Sighing, he lay down again and waited peacefully for sleep to call him again. If it would be so kind.

Syaoran opened his eyes a few hours later to a blurry picture of Sakura sitting in her corner of the elevator, hairpins in her mouth as she fixed her hair back into place. It seemed a stupid thing to do as she was still pantyhose-less and her blouse wasn't yet properly fixed, but what did he know?

"Well," she said with a smile after removing the pins from her mouth and putting them into her thick hair, "Sleeping Beauty finally awakes."

Syaoran scowled indignantly.

"I could say the same about you. Every time I was awake you were asleep!"

Sakura smiled again.

"So you think I'm beautiful, huh?" she teased, and was satisfied when Syaoran's amber eyes rolled heavenward.

"If beautiful is a synonym for irritating, then yes," Syaoran said almost lazily, having to force back a smile at Sakura's responding glare.

"I take it back. You are _not _Sleeping Beauty, you are Sleeping Pain In The Ass Who Snores A Lot," Sakura said angrily.

"I do NOT snore!" Syaoran said in outrage.

"Oh yeah? How do you know? Do you ever listen to yourself sleep?" Sakura asked, pulling the pins from her hair again.

"Well, no, but I…"

"Then there you go," Sakura said before turning away from him in a sulk, hands once again busy in the task of doing up her hair.

"Why do you keep doing your hair?" Syaoran asked, his mood rapidly turning sour. That woman could try the patience of a saint.

"I have to do SOMETHING! I'm bored, and this is the only entertainment available around here. I've done it in twelve different styles already since I woke up," Sakura replied, her back still to him.

Syaoran rolled his eyes at Sakura's waste of time. His eyes kept flicking to his watch, and he could do nothing but smile when he saw the time. Eight A.M. He would be out of here in around an hour and a half, once the security guard had phoned the company again and the engineers had arrived.

"Stop doing your hair and get ready, Kinomoto. We will be out of here soon," Syaoran said to his female companion.

"Really? How long?" Sakura asked, her attention suddenly refocused on the man.

"Oh, so now you aren't sulking like a three-year-old," Syaoran said sullenly.

"Speak for yourself, Mr. Mature," Sakura muttered sarcastically, turning away from him again.

Syaoran rolled his eyes for what felt like the fifth time (A.N. Because it IS the fifth time. I really need to learn some new expressions ^_^).

"If you keep rolling your eyes, they will fall out," Sakura said softly, her tone of voice suggesting that she was smiling. Syaoran didn't even bother to reply.

Sakura pressed the emergency button a few minutes later. Something had to be done, and if she were freed now, then perhaps she would escape with at least some of her sanity. Maybe.

"Hello? Security guy?" She asked into the intercom speaker.

"Is that the girl from last night?" that same security guard asked.

"Jeez, man, are you still working? They should give you a raise!"

"Er, thanks for your… Concern. I was hoping you would contact me again, as I called the company and they're sending some people out."

"Hallelujah!" Sakura cried before turning to see why Syaoran hadn't spoken. She got her answer when she saw Syaoran sprawled out on the floor, sleeping like a log. Again.

"Isn't your frien… I mean, that guy, there?"

The security guard asked, careful not to say anything that would imply anything about the man and woman's relationship after being yelled at the last time.

"Yes, but he's… Asleep," she whispered, not wanting to wake him, as he had been considerate enough to let her sleep before.

"Ok, but don't let him sleep too long… In fact, when the elevator is fixed, he'll probably wake up anyway, so just leave him for now."

"Mr. er, security guard, when will this be all over with?" Sakura asked hesitantly, afraid of what the answer might be.

"One more hour and you will be out of there. I guarantee it."

Sakura felt the first jolt of the elevator and a few rough male voices thirty minutes later.

_'I'm almost out of here,'_ she thought happily.

Syaoran jolted awake and began to yell,

"Oh my God, where's the earthquake? I _knew _the world would end in 2004!"

Sakura laughed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Li, but the engineers are getting us out, and that's what you can feel," she explained.

There was a shout of triumph from outside the elevator and Sakura never thought she would be so happy to arrive on the ground floor and have that female voice say:

"Ground floor."

Sakura ran out of the elevator and was surprised to see a head of very familiar raven hair…

"Tomoyo?" she asked in surprise. Silently, Tomoyo nodded, her outstretched arms holding a blanket.

"Oh, Sakura, I was so worried! I phoned the company last might and got the-"

Sakura smiled as she cut her off.

"Let me guess, the security guard?"

Tomoyo nodded.

"How did you know?"

"Let's just say that he's been a real lifesaver," Sakura said with a smile.

"Well, anyway, he asked him if he had seen any girls who looked like you lately, and I gave a description of you, but he hadn't seen you. I was so desperate that I asked if he knew of anyone still in the building, and asked if he could go look. It was then that he mentioned getting an emergency call from a guy and a girl trapped in an elevator. I knew that had to be you, as you hadn't come home, and he said that there was nobody else left in the building…" Tomoyo paused to take a deep breath before continuing.

"But he said that the earliest chance of getting you out would be tomorrow morning, so I waited until dawn and then drove out here."

"Tomoyo, I cannot believe you did that! Are you insane? Have you slept at _all_?"

"Sakura, it doesn't matter, because you're okay. I was so worried as the guard couldn't guarantee that the girl trapped in the elevator was you, so I kept having visions of you in some horrible car accident…"

Sakura smiled.

"Tomoyo, you worry too much. And your imagination is too vivid."

Tomoyo smiled in return, as if to say 'I know, but what am I going to do about it?'

"Come on, Sakura. You're coming home with me for a shower and a long nap," Tomoyo said firmly.

Mr Ueda, who had gone unnoticed by Sakura until that moment, coughed.

"Well, Mr Ueda," Tomoyo said as she turned to him, her I-am-so-polite-smile positively glowing on her face, "I'm sure you would be more than happy to let Sakura have the day off, as it was YOUR company's fault that she suffered such a terrible ordeal."

Mr Ueda spluttered, at a loss for what to say. Tomoyo's eyes were drawn to a few pieces of paper stapled together, with 'Kinomoto's Job Promotion Proposal' printed on the one closest to the top.

"Are those for Sakura?" Tomoyo asked briskly, pointing at the papers. Ueda said nothing, but nodded. Tomoyo smiled and took them from him, before turning to lead Sakura out of the doors and saying, "Okay, Mr. Ueda. Sakura will see you tomorrow."

"I can't believe you just did that!" Sakura squealed when she and Tomoyo were out of sight of the building's front doors. Tomoyo grinned.

"To be honest, neither do I."


	3. On One Condition

_Butterflies_

_Chapter three ~ On one condition…_

"Tomoyo?" Kinomoto Sakura said her best friend's name quietly, to check if the raven-haired one was there.

The brunette was sitting in a squashy armchair in their lounge that afternoon.

"Yes, Sakura?" Tomoyo asked distractedly as she folded a bed sheet some few feet away, where she had set up an ironing board.

"Can you come over here and take a look at this?" Sakura asked as she lifted the pages of the proposal Mr Ueda had given her and scanned the myriad black typed words from where they were positioned in her lap.

Tomoyo nodded and set down the bedsheet, moving quickly to the armchair where Sakura was.

"Are these the papers that I took off Mr Ueda?" Tomoyo asked as she reached the auburn-haired woman and began peering down at the small font.

Sakura nodded wordlessly, her eyes still trained on the paper as she finished reading the last sentence.

"Here," she said as she gathered the pages up into a small bundle again, "you take a look at it and tell me what you think, okay?"

Tomoyo smiled and sank into the armchair that Sakura vacated, her violet eyes quickly moving from side to side as she read.

Sakura, requiring something to distract herself, went to the kitchen and proceeded to make two mugs of steaming coffee. After ten minutes with the documents, and just as Sakura was tasting the two mugs to see if they were okay, Tomoyo yelled in to her;

"Why did you need me to look at it? The pay's more, you get a bigger office, it's a position in a department that you are more interested in… It's obvious that you should go for it!"

"You think so?" Sakura asked as she brought the mugs in, holding them awkwardly so as to spare herself from being burnt.

"Of course! How could you even think about _not _taking it?"

Sakura sighed, knowing that her reason was going to sound ridiculous.

"You see, Tomoyo, there's this guy at work that I _really _don't like. No, actually, let's rephrase that. I _hate _the guy!" Sakura said as she handed one of the mugs to her raven-haired best friend.

"Okay," Tomoyo said slowly, trying to calm Sakura after her outburst, "just why do you… _Dislike _him so much?"

"Let's get this straight, Tomoyo, I do not _dislike _the guy, I HATE him!"

"Okay, okay! It's just, hate is a very strong word…"

"It's more than appropriate in his case," Sakura answered like a sulking child.

"Fair enough. Now, why do you hate him?"

"Because he's an asshole."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"As delightful as that answer is," she said sarcastically, "I would like something a little less vague."

"Okay, examples of things he's done… But God, there's so many… Okay, he tripped me up on the day I met him, he spread rumours about me around work, got hold of a VERY PERSONAL picture of me and put it everywhere, just yesterday he asked me out in front of the ENTIRE office, even though he KNEW I'd say no… Need I go on?"

Tomoyo just had to giggle at Sakura and her indignant tone of voice.

"Okay, I have a few things to say. Number one: what was the rumour? Number two: what picture was it? Number three: if he did all that then you must have provoked him, and, finally, number four: is he cute?"

It took Sakura a few seconds to process all this information and then she spewed out a long, garbled reply.

"It was a rumour which I would rather not discuss, no picture that you've ever seen, _no_, _of COURSE _I never provoked him, I'm not an idiot, and I guess he's cute if you like his look."

"You don't have a problem admitting he's cute?" Tomoyo asked, mildly surprised.

"No, I'm not a child. Besides, I didn't say that _I _find him cute, I said that some misguided individuals _might _find him cute."

"As much as you say that you're not children, your actions and his tell otherwise," Tomoyo teased, and raised her arms to shield herself from Sakura's thrown cushion.

"So you really think that I should take this job?" Sakura asked seriously.

"All joking aside, I _definitely _think you should take it."

Sakura nodded, her expression serious and thoughtful.

"I'm going back to bed. See you later."

"Sakura, wait!" Tomoyo called after Sakura's back and she paused half-way up the stairs.

"Yes?" she asked, turning back towards her friend. Tomoyo blushed.

"Well, Eriol and I were going to see a movie tonight…" she said, her voice trailing off nervous, her tone of voice almost apologetic.

Sakura smiled.

"Don't worry- I know how important it is to be engaged. I'll be fine- it's not like I'm ill or anything." Tomoyo looked relieved and Sakura smiled again before finally climbing all the stairs to her room.

Sakura awoke the next morning feeling rested and refreshed, amazed that she was awake before her alarm. The extra-long nap she took yesterday must have helped her body-clock get back on track. She yawned and stretched before swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stepping on to the carpet, thick and soft beneath and between her toes.

Tomoyo… Was she here, or would she be at Eriol's? She walked out of her room, careful not to step on the floorboards that squeaked so as not to wake anyone, checking every room on her way.

Reluctantly, she peered into Tomoyo's bedroom; her eyes shut tight as she slowly eased the door open. She opened her eyes for a fraction of a second and breathed a sigh of relief when she discovered that the room was mercifully empty. Walking in on your best friend in bed with a guy was disturbing, even if that guy was her fiancé and someone that you knew very well.

The two lovebirds must have retired to Eriol's home after the movie. Sakura walked into the bathroom, glad to be able to have a long shower without worrying about leaving Tomoyo with only cold water.

"Miss Kinomoto!" Mr Ueda called upon seeing his employee, obviously just in if her flushed face and slightly windswept hair were any indication.

"Mr Ueda!" she said joyfully, happy to have found her boss without even having to look, having just walked into the corridor.

"Are you feeling okay? I'm really, really sorry about the elevator yesterday," Ueda said sincerely, his eyes searching hers. Sakura smile and brushed his concern off, saying,

"I'm fine now. And the elevator wasn't your fault."

"Anyway, have you made a decision about the promotion?" he asked eagerly, face lighting up in anticipation. Sakura nodded and smiled, the promotion being exactly why she had wanted to find him.

"Yes. I have decided to accept."

"Hooray! I really wanted you do be our new Deputy Head of Advertising, I didn't know what I would do if you declined…" Ueda babbled happily before Sakura cut across him.

"Now, before you start celebrating," she began, and Ueda's face fell.

"I knew there had to be a 'but' somewhere," he said with a shrug.

"I have one request."

"Name it," he said, confident that they could grant whatever she wanted.

"I'll take the position… For now."

"What on Earth do you mean?" he asked.

"I'll be your new Deputy Head. But only temporarily…"

Three months. That was the trial period that they agreed on. She turned this over in her mind as they walked to her new office. Three months with Syaoran Li. If they couldn't even attempt to get along, then three months wasn't so long that she would be tearing her hair out. Also, it would give her enough time to gauge if the job was right for her.

She could do three months. Right?

"Okay, Miss Kinomoto, here is your new office," Ueda said as they reached the door. She smiled in anticipation as he opened the door, but the smile was quickly wiped from her face when she saw what, or rather _who,_ was on the other side…

"Li Syaoran, this is your new Deputy Head," Ueda announced to a startled Syaoran.

"Um, are you sure?" Was his only response, an eyebrow arched as he briefly looked up at them from his paperwork.

"Quite sure, Mr Li. She is by far the most qualified in her field, and I believe she will be excellent at her job," Mr Ueda answered.

_'Ha,'_ Sakura thought upon seeing the look on his face.

"Oh well," Syaoran said as he got up from his desk, "it's your funeral."

Sakura glared at Syaoran because of his words.

"Can we go to _my _office now?" Sakura asked Ueda pointedly. Ueda looked confused.

"But I thought I told you. This _is _your office."

"WHAT?" The two asked in unison.

Ueda shrank back from them at their outburst.

"Since you two are going to have to talk to each other so much, the company thought that it made more sense for the two of you to share one office, instead of you running up and down the corridors."

"Fantastic. I must commend the board on its wonderful decisions," Syaoran said sarcastically.

"Hey, you're not the only one who isn't happy with this arrangement!" Sakura said, turning to Ueda.

"Can't you appeal to the board?" She asked him, though she knew it would do no good.

"Personally, I support their decision. So, as charming as you are, Miss Kinomoto, I wouldn't do anything. Don't forget, Miss Kinomoto that you agreed to three months. You signed the contract."

Sakura wrinkled her nose.

"Don't remind me."

"Maybe _she _agreed to something, but I sure as hell didn't!" Syaoran said angrily, playing his final card in a last-ditch attempt to get out of this.

"Mr Li, do you want to lose your job?" Ueda asked softly. Syaoran fell silent.

"I thought so," the man noted with satisfaction.

"Sorry, kids," he said as he opened the door to leave, "good luck."

And then he was gone.

Syaoran sat down at his desk, but Sakura stood in the middle of the room, holding her coat and looking lost.

"Practising being a statue, Kinomoto?" he asked dryly. She blushed.

"I just don't know where to go," she said.

"Take that desk over there. I had been hoping for a secretary, but I suppose that's not likely…"

Sakura snorted as she sat down and arranged her coat, briefcase and belongings at her new desk.

"Well, I'm no secretary. I am a serious worker," she said. Now it was Syaoran's turn to snort.

"You really think you can handle this job? In the end, all you will be good for is a secretary."

Sakura thought,

'We'll just see about that.'


	4. First Day of The Rest of Her Life

Sakura's alarm went off early the next morning, and she made no attempt to quieten it, instead choosing to pull her bedclothes over her head with a moan of protest. Yesterday had been a half-day trial-run, and that took so much effort to get through that she doubted it was worth her while going back today.

Because she was new to the department, she had been given a timetable of meetings and boardroom discussions etc., and today contained her first-ever one. Before she had never had to be involved with anything like that, but being one of the heads of a department now, she had to attend every one.

With a resigned sigh she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up, stretching and yawning widely in the process. Tomoyo had returned late yesterday morning, just before Sakura left for work, and was asleep in her own bed this morning.

She picked up her timetable from her bedside cabinet on her way to the bathroom, determined to have at least some idea of where and when her opinions were required.

Sakura stepped out of the bathroom some ten minutes later, wrapped in a towel, emerald eyes scanning the timetable in an attempt to learn the pattern. In her distraction she walked straight into Tomoyo who was coming out of her bedroom.

"Sorry, Tomoyo!" she wailed as Tomoyo rubbed her forehead and winced.

"It's… Okay," she said through gritted teeth.

"But it's not," Sakura pointed out.

"No, it's not, actually, but it will be in a minute. How's the new job working out?" Tomoyo asked, her violet eyes twinkling in mischief.

Sakura groaned and threw her arms out.

"Don't. Talk. To. Me. About. That. Job." She said, each word spat out like a bullet.

"Why? What's so bad?" Tomoyo asked, suddenly worried.

"Oh, it's just Li… You know the way we have to share an office? Well, I have a feeling that that's going to lead to arguments… Plus, it's like being back at school! I have homework!"

"What?" Tomoyo spluttered. Sakura said nothing but held out her timetable.

"Oh my goodness!" she said in surprise as she read through the numerous engagements that Sakura was to have every week.

"Wait, Sakura. They must think you're Superwoman!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, pausing in the towel-drying of her auburn hair.

"What do you mean?" She continued.

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you have to be Superwoman to attend two meetings at ten A.M. on Tuesday mornings?"

Sakura snatched back her timetable and groaned when she too realised their mistake. How on Earth _was _she going to be at two meetings at once? Whoever had made the timetable for her must have made a mistake.

"AND I'm running late!" She cried as she spied the time on Tomoyo's wristwatch. Sakura dashed back into her bedroom and Tomoyo sighed as her door slammed. Never had the violet-eyed girl been so glad to be self-employed.

Fifteen minutes later Sakura was grabbing her car keys, gabbling a hurried 'goodbye' to Tomoyo before hopping into her car and driving away, almost running over their elderly neighbour in her haste. Tomoyo had to smile. Some things never changed.

Kinomoto Sakura was late. Li Syaoran noted this with satisfaction as nine A.M. came into view on his clock and Sakura still-

A door was thrown open against the wall, interrupting his thoughts and Kinomoto herself came barging into their office, muttering something about 'incompetent drivers, didn't they know that speed limits were only a vague guide?'

Syaoran blinked when he heard Sakura say that. What kind of a crazy driver _was _she? He coughed to get her attention. She looked up, clearly annoyed, and snapped,

"Can I help you?"

"Sorry," he muttered sarcastically.

"What did you say?" She asked.

"Nothing, Kinomoto. I was just wanting to tell you that we have a meeting in ten minutes, so don't start working on anything major."

This stopped Sakura in her tracks.

"Did you just give me advice? Are you being _nice_?" She asked in bewilderment.

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Don't read too much into it, Kinomoto. The people on the board told me to help you with all the meetings and such, since you're the new one here. Besides, if you were late then it would reflect badly on me, as we share the same office and so they would expect me to remind you."

"When are you all going to realise that I can handle this?" She asked, not really expecting an answer as she crashed down on to her chair, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

The moment she sat on her chair, as it was adjustable the platform crashed down on to the wheels, making a loud noise and ending up with Sakura practically sitting on the burst out laughing.

"You can handle the pressures of an executive job, huh? You can't even handle an adjustable chair!" He laughed. Sakura ignored him and returned her chair to the correct height.

"You see, some people make mistakes. But I forgot that you're _perfect_, Li," she said scathingly, turned to her computer which she switched on. Syaoran abruptly stopped laughing.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked, his tone of voice suddenly wary.

"Well, you and the rest of the world seem to think you're so great. I'm the only one who knows the truth- did you even realise that you have one cream sock on and one white one?" She asked. Immediately he looked under his desk at the ankle bared by the trouser-legs of his suit.

Damn, the girl was right. He flushed but didn't look at her, instead staring determinedly at a document he was typing.

"What did you do this morning? Get dressed in the dark?" She asked, her chair now swivelled so that she could see him. He didn't answer.

"Fine, be that way," Sakura said sulkily as she reluctantly turned back to her work, "boy, you can dish it out, but you sure can't take it."

"Now, what's _that _supposed to mean?" He asked, suddenly all ears, turned back to look at Sakura, or, at least, the back of her head.

"Li, you know, for an executive, you're not that bright," she said sweetly, and before his indignant spluttering could become an answer, she checked her watch and said cheerfully,

"Time for the meeting. Come on now, Li, we don't want to be late."

And walked out the door, leaving a scowling Syaoran behind. He watched her go, and wondered how she knew just what to say to annoy him the most. He was smarter than her- so how come she won just as much as he did in their arguments? How come she got to him like that?

Then he realised that if he didn't move then he was in serious danger of being late himself, and he couldn't let Kinomoto get to him so early. There were, after all, three more months to go of her contract, and he had to remain professional throughout them.

Sakura stifled a yawn for the fifth time in twenty minutes. Why was this so _boring_? She hoped that further meetings would be more interesting, or else she would more than gladly go back to her old job at the end of the three months.

She didn't actually understand why her presence was required at this particular meeting, as it appeared to be a discussion about the company's budget and financial matters (as far as she could tell from the pieces she had actually _bothered _to listen to) and she had absolutely _nothing _to do with that.

Li actually appeared to be _listening _and he even contributed to the discussion every so often. Whether he was just being a kiss-ass or whether he was genuinely interested, Sakura didn't know. Or, indeed, care.

She looked at her nails and wished that she'd brought a nail file or some polish. Everyone was paying such little attention to her that she doubted they would notice if she started doing her nails. How much longer could this _possibly _go on? It wasn't like this was even an interesting topic, so surely they would all be released soon.

_'Don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep…' _She thought to herself, if only to keep her awake.

"What do you think, Miss Kinomoto?" A senior member of the board asked kindly, and everyone turned to look at her. She gulped- what should she say? She hadn't listened to _any _of the conversation.

Someone had once told her that of you didn't hear what someone said, instead of looking stupid by asking them to repeat it, you just smiled, nodded and said "yes."

Syaoran was looking at her sternly and shaking his head ever so slightly, glaring icy daggers at her, obviously he wanted her to say "no." That only strengthened her faith in the 'smile, nod and say "yes"' piece of advice, so she did just that. Smiled, nodded and said, confidently, "yes!"

"Then it's settled!" The elderly man said delightedly.

"You and Li shall attend the Tokyo Business Convention in a month as representatives of the company!" Sakura paled at his words.

"What does that entail?" she asked warily.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a flight to Tokyo and a few days in a hotel together. I hear you two already work in the same office, so that should be fine!" He replied.

Sakura resisted the urge to bang her head off the table. That was the last time she ever took advice from _anyone_.


	5. Misleading Positions

_**Butterflies**_

_**Chapter five Misleading Positions**_

"Why did you DO that?" he asked when they were safely back in their office.

"Well, I was flustered! I did the first thing I thought of!"

"Was the first thing you thought of, 'say something stupid'?"

Sakura refused to believe that tears were building in her eyes.

"Look I-I made a mistake! I'm sorry!" she cried.

"Saying sorry doesn't fix it!" Syaoran yelled.

"I know, I know it doesn't! But it's the best I can do. And if you can't accept that I made a mistake and then gave a sincere apology, then I don't think I can work with you any more."

And with that, Sakura turned to walk out the door, prepared to storm out until Syaoran reached forward and caught her arm.

"You can't quit, Kinomoto," he said sternly. Sakura stubbornly refused to look at him, instead staring at the door.

"Kinomoto, look at me!" he said sharply, tugging on her arm and whirling her around to face him.

"What do you care whether I quit or not?" she asked savagely, emerald at war with amber as she looked into his eyes.

"I don't," he said, abruptly dropping his hold on her.

"I'm telling you the truth. You really can't quit- you signed a contract making you stay here for at least the next three months."

"Damn it!" she swore, and resisted the sudden urge to stamp her foot.

"Besides," he said with a teasing smile, "don't you want to prove me wrong, and prove that you can do this job?"

Sakura nodded. She couldn't give up!

"I will prove you wrong, you know," Sakura said as she sat back down at her desk.

"Sometimes," he muttered so that the auburn-haired girl wouldn't hear, a smile present on his face as he turned back to his work, "I don't doubt that you will."

"A business trip alone with him? Oh, you poor dear!" Tomoyo exclaimed sympathetically later than night when Sakura told her the whole story.

"By the way," the dark-haired woman continued, "that piece of advice I gave you- I didn't mean it like that. I meant that if you get asked if you can do something in a job interview, you say that you can!"

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Well, for example, if they ask you if you can ride horses, you say you've been doing it since you were five. They ask you if you know how to use that latest piece of office equipment, you say you have a degree in it. In other words, the answer of every question is 'yes'."

Sakura giggled.

"But that doesn't mean you know how to do it," she pointed out.

"Well, you figure out how to do it later!"

"Tomoyo-chan, you are such a liar!"

Tomoyo shrugged.

"You still have to go with him, though. I'll worry about you the whole time that you're gone!"

"Well, if you didn't, I would be worried myself!" Sakura laughed,

"Tomoyo's known because of her hysterical scream of 'SAKURA-CHAN'!"

Tomoyo pouted in fake annoyance.

"Still, the house will be empty all day…. I hate that."

"Why don't you go stay with Eriol?" Sakura suggested.

"I guess I could do that," she said uneasily.

"Yeah, it could be like a fiancé bonding…. Thingy…." Sakura said.

Tomoyo laughed.

"Yes. I know what you mean. I think…."

"Anyway, I'm going to bed, Tomoyo-chan. I want to go into work early tomorrow- catch up on some work. I never realised how much harder the work is when you get promoted. Plus, I've got the biggest, most annoying distraction in the world sharing an office with me."

"Goodnight, Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo called cheerfully as her best friend climbed the stairs to her bedroom.

Sakura waltzed in to her office, bopping along and singing to the song issuing from her headphones, dressed simply in a pair of jeans and a crisp, white blouse. Her eyes were closed- not a good idea as she was carrying a full-to-the-brim Styrofoam cup of scalding-hot coffee.

She was so early she obviously thought she was the first one in. Syaoran coughed to try and catch her attention, but she couldn't hear.

Damn, but that girl could _sing_! He coughed more loudly, but she was still singing and dancing with her eyes closed, oblivious to the man about twenty feet from her.

The lyrics were making him slightly uncomfortable now…. Especially now that the video for that particular song was coming to him…. And Sakura appeared to have swapped places with the girls in the video…. He gulped.

Syaoran had officially given up on catching her attention, instead resigned to letting her finish. Surely the song couldn't be much longer? And could she stop asking him to go to bed with her!

Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief as Sakura gave the end of the song everything she had before smiling and opening her eyes, only to blush when she saw him. In fact, it looked as though she might die of embarrassment.

"Please tell me that you haven't been here this whole time," she said, wincing.

"I saw everything. You're quite the singer/dancer, Kinomoto," he said with a smirk. Sakura glared at him.

"But I wouldn't go around singing songs with lyrics like that quite so loudly. People might think you're…."

"What? Easy? A slut?" Sakura asked in a tone of voice that said she was not pleased.

Syaoran laughed.

"Both! What a good description of you!"

"Why you…."

Sakura walked forward to him and craned her neck to look into his eyes. Then she punched him.

"Yes, like that hurt, Kinomoto," he said with a teasing smile. Sakura narrowed her eyes and tripped him, her leg moving fast and hitting his ankles. He fell to the ground, and, Sakura taking his moment of surprise as her opportunity, sat on him, pinning his shoulders to the ground as best she could with her hands.

"How- did you…."

"Self-defence classes. Men seem to think that small women are easy targets. And I SO hurt you when I punched you," she answered. Syaoran didn't answer, not wanting to admit she was right, instead staring up at her and wondering just what she was about.

Sometimes she was just a naïve young woman. Sometimes she was violent, as in this case. Sometimes she fascinated him. Sometimes he wanted to get as far away from her as was possible. Sometimes he wanted to know her a little better.

But no matter what, she was always, _always _confusing.

"Now you listen to me, you idiotic, chauvinistic pig! I am a decent person who is just trying to do her job! You don't know me, and let me tell you, I am the OPPOSITE of an easy slut!" she ranted, occasionally increasing the pressure on his shoulders to emphasise her point.

Just as Sakura was expressing her views to a Syaoran who was hovering between amused and slightly frightened, there was a knock on the door and Ueda entered, emitting a slightly embarrassed cough when he saw the position that his two employees were in.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I just came to see how you were doing…. I'll leave now, and let you get back to… Whatever…. It is that you're doing…." He said before turning and walking away, closing the door softly behind him.

Syaoran burst out laughing, but Sakura rapidly turned red, looking suitably embarrassed and hitting his shoulder lightly, promptly stopping his laughter.

"What?" he asked, looking puzzled.

"It's not funny! He probably thinks we're just goofing around all the time instead of working!"

"Well, perhaps," he said, that mischievous glint in his eye again, "but insert another word in there instead of 'goofing around' and you'll be closer to the truth."

Sakura got up off him, emerald eyes rolling in disgust.

"You know, Li, you are a real pervert."

Syaoran got to his feet and smiled as Sakura got straight back to her work, not looking up even once as she started into typing up numerous documents that had landed on her desk earlier.

"Admit it, Kinomoto, it was kind of funny," he said to her back as he sat back into his chair. Sakura didn't even acknowledge that he had spoken.

"You know, I really wish I had got a secretary instead of you," Syaoran said as he looked at his workload.

"Why? Well, apart form the fact that you're lazy, of course," Sakura replied as she squinted at a particularly strange-looking word.

"Secretaries wear short skirts and low-cut tops," he replied without missing a beat.

"No they don't," Sakura said, sounding disgusted.

"Any secretary of mine would. I would make sure of it."

"Why are all men like you?" Sakura asked, now clearly very disgusted.

"Because, Kinomoto, I'm a pretty fine man," Syaoran said with a smile, not being serious. She threw a floppy disk at him in response, and Syaoran ducked, laughing.

"Kinomoto, what time is it?" Syaoran asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"Ten A.M. Wow, already!" she exclaimed.

"I was afraid of that," he said.

"Why?"

"Because a meeting that we had to be at started thirty minutes ago."

"Stupid damn meetings!" Sakura yelled in frustration as she and Syaoran saved their files on their computers and ran out the door.

They arrived at the boardroom a few minutes later, panting and out of breath.

"Okay, we'll just slip in and sit down, nobody will even notice," Syaoran said to Sakura as they stood outside the door.

Sakura nodded, looking less than composed as Syaoran reached forward and opened the door…. To see all the board members looking at them disapprovingly.

"Nice to finally see you, Li-san and Kinomoto-san," Ueda said.

Sakura was painfully aware of her flushed face and the fact that she was short of breath, and the fact that Syaoran was in the same physical state.

"I do hope your lateness has nothing to do with what I saw earlier," Ueda said sternly.

And Syaoran burst into laughter, leaving a Sakura who was trying desperately not to giggle as well and a board wondering just what was so funny.


	6. What Li Gets For Free

_**Disclaimer: **_CCS isn't mine, but 'Butterflies' and all related with the fic is mine.

_**Butterflies**_

_**Chapter six ~ What Li Gets For Free**_

Kinomoto Sakura banged her head off of her desk repeatedly, because it made her feel better. A little better. But it made her head hurt, which sucked. So she didn't really feel better at all…

"Well, this position has worked out well for us, hasn't it?" Syaoran asked sarcastically. (A.N. And no, nothing perverted intended by that statement, btw!)

"I can't BELIEVE the board put us under surveillance!" Sakura wailed dramatically.

"And with Ueda, too, who thinks we're busy doing 'It' all day!" Syaoran said, and despite the fact that it actually struck him as rather funny, he didn't laugh. Because really, it wasn't funny. And Kinomoto would probably claw his eyes out if he did. Not that she wouldn't be perfectly entitled to, of course…

"We have to make some changes- no more arguing-" Sakura began, before Syaoran cut her off.

"Kinomoto, do you really think that we can manage that?" he asked, an eyebrow arched in disbelief as he sat at his desk in their office, his chair swung round to let him face Sakura.

"Okay, good point. Scratch that- _less_ arguing, then," Sakura said decisively.

"I think it'll be a stretch for us to even manage that-" Syaoran said.

"Look, Li," Sakura said angrily, "this guy is going to be coming in and out of our office all the time to check on us, and we don't know when! We have to look controlled, hardworking and professional from now on if we want to keep our jobs!"

"Okay, okay. I guess you're right," Syaoran admitted.

"I think this is perhaps the most civil conversation we've had since I started working with you," Sakura stated simply as she looked at Syaoran, ten feet away from her. An uncomfortable silence fell over the pair until Syaoran said helpfully, stumbling over his words due to lack of inspiration,

"Right, and we should spend more time working and less time… Uh… Not!"

Sakura snapped out of her trance and nodded at his words.

"And we should be more efficient and stop having those fights where we throw floppy disks at each other because someone is eventually going to get hurt…" Sakura said seriously. Syaoran nodded. And then they fell silent again, puzzled at what was going on.

"And I think you're an idiot!" Syaoran exclaimed finally.

"What?" Sakura screamed.

"There," Syaoran said with a laugh, "agreeing with each other was way too weird. I like it better when we argue."

And then the pair turned back to their work, but both were still a little uncomfortable…

"And so Ueda walked in when I was on top of Syaoran, and he got TOTALLY the wrong idea…"

Sakura was at her home later that night, telling Tomoyo all about her day at work. She cringed at her latest statement as she remembered it.

"Oh no!" Tomoyo cried, her nose wrinkled, absolutely dying for her best friend.

"Then he walked out and said he would 'leave us to _whatever _it was we were doing'! So I got up and yelled at Syaoran because it was his fault for calling me a slut in the first place, but he thought it was _funny_!"

Privately Tomoyo agreed with Mr Li on this one, not that she would ever admit it to her emerald-eyed best friend. But the way Sakura was telling it back to her, she could _definitely _see the funny side as well as the embarrassing one, and couldn't help but wish she had witnessed it herself. With her trusty video camera firmly on 'record', of course. How would it be fun otherwise?

"So we went back to work and then Syaoran decides to tell me about some board meeting that we were thirty minutes late for!" Sakura said.

"And THEN we thought we could just slip in unnoticed when we got there, but the WHOLE BOARD saw that we were late. THEN, because of our flushed appearance form running all that way, Ueda looks at us and says he 'hopes we weren't late because of what he saw earlier'!" And, despite herself, Sakura's mouth twitched at the corners as she remembered.

"And then we collapsed into giggles because, really, it _was_ rather funny," Sakura said, and began to laugh herself, joined by Tomoyo. Sakura fell on to the couch and kicked her shoes off before leaning her head back on the cushions and sighing contentedly.

"So really your day wasn't that bad, huh?" Tomoyo asked timidly, afraid that she might get her head bitten off. Sakura laughed and turned her head to look at the raven-haired girl sitting next to her, who had her legs folded neatly underneath her rear so that all of her was curled up on the couch.

"Oh, my dear Tomoyo-chan, you haven't heard the half of it," Sakura said with an ironic smile.

"Well," Tomoyo responded, "do you want any hot chocolate or tea or coffee or something? You look like you could really do with it, and you can call the rest of your story in to me as I make it." Sakura couldn't have looked more grateful if Tomoyo had just performed a miracle.

"Thank you so much, hot chocolate would be great, please Tomoyo-chan," she sighed, a genuine smile now forming on her tired face. Tomoyo smiled and nodded before getting up and walking into the adjoining kitchen. Sakura smiled- this was just like when they were kids- Tomoyo with that same little nod and smile expression which still made her look about ten years old when she did it, and of course, Tomoyo listening patiently to Sakura's problems while she made tea, or some other hot beverage, as was her speciality.

Except this time, Sakura's problem wasn't that her brother kept picking on her, or that one of the boys at school had been mean to her (when Tomoyo was told this, she simply replied each time that said boy had a crush on her, to which Sakura would snort in disbelief, but eventually the pranks and name-calling would turn into cards, presents and finally, a love declaration. It surprised ten-year-old Sakura every time it happened, but little Tomoyo would only smile at being proved right, yet again.)

Sakura rarely had to play agony aunt for Tomoyo, except when she needed dating-related help with Eriol, and although Sakura was hardly qualified to give _any _sort of advice in that department, she did her level best. It was, after all, for Tomoyo-chan.

But usually all that Tomoyo needed was to tell someone else about her problems, and Sakura was a great listener when she felt like it. She felt less like it when Tomoyo was moaning at her to do the washing, but…

"So then the board said that we had to be put under surveillance to make sure that nothing of the sort happens again- especially because I'm new to the department. So Mr Ueda now has the power to walk into our office anytime he wants to see what we're doing," Sakura continued as Tomoyo hunted for their hot chocolate powder in the kitchen cupboards.

"And Mr Ueda thinks that you two are… Having an affair, is that how I should put it?" Tomoyo asked, having to work hard to keep her tone of voice normal so as not to betray the fact that she was smiling.

"Exactly! The guy thinks all we ever do is IT!" Sakura exclaimed, before moaning and closing her eyes tightly at the hopelessness of it all.

"Now now, Sakura-chan, don't be crude," Tomoyo teased from the kitchen.

"Very funny, Tomoyo-chan," Sakura groaned.

"And you don't think that's even the _tiniest _bit funny?" Tomoyo asked as she found the tub of powder.

"Of course not!" Sakura said, sounding outraged,

"My boss thinks I'm _doing_ a co-worker, not to put too fine a point on it!"

"I actually feel sorry for Ueda-san - he's probably worried he's gonna stumble in on something disturbing… I'll bet Li-san thinks it's funny," Tomoyo said as she checked the use-by date on the base of the tub and gasped.

"No, he doesn't, actually, as both our jobs are in trouble if Ueda doesn't think we're 'behaving'," Sakura replied, and when Tomoyo didn't answer after a few seconds she called,

"Is everything okay?"

"Sakura," Tomoyo called back," when was the last time we had hot chocolate?"

"Oh," Sakura replied as she wracked her brains, "I made some for us last week."

"Uh huh," Tomoyo said as she pulled a face and looked at the offending powder that was still in her hands, "I was afraid of that. By any chance, did you check the use-by date on the tin before you used it?"

"No need to! Chocolate powder keeps for _ages_!" Sakura said happily from her position on the couch,

"That's why it's one of my favourite things to have in the kitchen- if you lose your chocolate powder at the back of one of the cupboards for a while and then find it later, you can still use it. Now, if you lose milk at the back of your fridge for a while, you'll find a horrible smell and something that looks like it has mutated…"

"Sakura, that chocolate powder was TWO YEARS past its use-by date!" Tomoyo wailed. Sakura fell silent, her emerald eyes wide before yelling,

"Ugh!"

"So, tea, anyone?" Tomoyo asked with a laugh a few seconds later.

"Oh, Sakura, is that what you're wearing to work this morning?" Tomoyo asked when Sakura descended the stairs the next morning, dressed in a knee-length black skirt and conservative white blouse.

"Yes, why else would I have it on? Why, don't you like it?" the auburn-haired girl asked, sounding a little offended, even though Tomoyo hadn't yet given her a reason to.

"No, no, it's fine… I guess I must have forgotten to mention it to you last night," Tomoyo said.

"Forgot to mention what to me?" Sakura asked, suddenly wary. She could sense a favour being called in here.

"That I wanted you to wear an outfit I designed. It's part of 'Daidouji Designs' new range, and I wanted you to sort of… Test it by wearing it to work…" Tomoyo said, trying to sound innocent.

Sakura backed away in horror.

"No WAY, Tomoyo-chan! The last time I let you dress me, ten guys asked me out, three guys told me they'd pay me to…" she broke off with a shudder.

"Get some of what Li-san gets for free?" Tomoyo asked, a sly look on her face, and she burst out laughing when Sakura turned beetroot.

"Tomoyo, that's not even funny, and you know it!" Sakura protested.

"Yes, I know. And it's probably not the best thing to do to try to get you to go along with my plan, but I just couldn't resist!" Tomoyo exclaimed, her hand clapped over her mouth in mirth.

"Anyway, there was that one guy who even PROPOSED!" Sakura continued.

"Yeah, that was hilarious!" Tomoyo laughed.

"Tomoyo, what is the _name _of the range?" Sakura asked cautiously, determined to get back on subject as she was going to end up late to work if this whole situation wasn't resolved swiftly.

"What, are you hoping I'll say 'innocent'?" Tomoyo asked with a roll of those ever-so-expressive violet eyes.

"It's 'sweet seduction'," Tomoyo answered with a sigh, and if it wasn't coming from an Amamiya offspring, it would have sounded defeated. Sakura immediately looked even _more _horrified, if that were possible.

"Dear God, NO!" Sakura cried, her arms crossed in front of her chest defensively.

"I thought you would say that. But I have a favour to call in…" Tomoyo said with a sly smile that made her look freakily like her fiancé, Hiiragizawa Eriol.

"I was afraid of that," Sakura moaned, her hands over her eyes.

"Remember that nightclub a few months ago? That creepy guy who wanted to go out with you and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer? Remember how I pretended to be your girlfriend so that we could get away? You said you owed me ten favours, and I'm calling in number three."

"Dear God, no," Sakura repeated, frozen to the spot. Of course she remembered that night- it was one of the most bizarre experiences she had ever had, and when she and Tomoyo got home, they both said 'never again!' Naturally, they were clubbing again the next weekend.

"Oh yes. Now, let me lead you to your dressing room," Tomoyo said with a smile that she probably intended to be innocent, but made her look like someone who liked to kill puppies for fun, as she walked up the stairs. And all Sakura could do was follow her, and hope that 'sweet seduction' was tamer than it sounded.


	7. Shocks and Seduction in Practise

_**Disclaimer: **_I do not own CCS. Now, if I had a penny for every time I said that, I could… Buy CCS! *laughs*

_**Butterflies**_

_**Chapter seven ~ Shocks and Seduction In Practise**_

_~ '"Now tell me, aren't I better than a secretary?"' ~_

"Tomoyo, there is no way in HELL," Sakura said as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror that adorned one of the walls of Tomoyo's purple bedroom.

"Oh, yes, there is, Sakura-chan, because I've blackmailed you so well there's no way you can possibly get out of it. Besides you look so kawaii! Utterly adorable!" Tomoyo said as hearts appeared in her eyes.

"Tomoyo, you are such an AWFUL liar. I look the OPPOSITE of cute, because 'cute' means 'innocent'. And I look like a hooker," Sakura said.

"No you don't!" Tomoyo insisted, sounding horrified.

"Tomoyo, wake up! Look at this skirt- it barely covers my butt! And this blouse is the sluttiest I have ever seen! It's so clingy and low-cut… If I lean over too far then my breasts will fall out! And don't you think the knee-high, high-heeled boots were a little too much?" Sakura asked, her nose screwed up as she twirled to look at her reflection in the mirror.

"I look like… Li's version of a secretary!" Sakura finally realised and laughed heartily.

"What?" Tomoyo asked, looking rather confused.

"When I came to work with Li, he said he wished he had got a secretary, because he said secretaries dressed exactly like this!" Sakura continued to laugh.

"Well, there you go! You get to fulfil a fantasy for Li-san AND do product research for me!" Tomoyo exclaimed, totally unable to resist the opportunity to make another reference to Sakura and Li's make-believe 'affair'.

Sakura turned and glared daggers at her friend.

"Tomoyo, did I mention lately that I hate you?" Sakura asked.

"No, I'm being serious! You turn up to work like this, Li-san is so gobsmacked he doesn't say anything to irritate you, Ueda sees you two not arguing, AND he takes you off surveillance because you look so attractive!" Tomoyo gushed.

Sakura eyed her best friend skeptically.

"Well, actually, Ueda'll probably pop round more often just to see you, so that might not work…" Tomoyo admitted, her finger on her lips in a thoughtful pose.

"And, in return, all I have to do is put up with over fifty male colleagues drooling over me all day," Sakura said, looking as if this was so unfair that it was ridiculous. Which was true, really.

"Yes, I knew you'd see it my way in the end!" Tomoyo exclaimed, as she took it totally the wrong way, hugging her friend around the neck from behind. Sakura just looked at her reflection and wondered what on earth she had got herself into.

Tomoyo had told Sakura that all she needed to do was observe people's reactions when they saw her, or, indeed, ask them what they thought if she was feeling particularly adventurous. Sakura, still in her car which was parked outside the building, took a deep, steadying breath. She could do this. She could _so _do this.

She got out of her car and locked it then walked up to the doors looking a million times more confident than she actually felt. The security guard's eyes widened when she went past and she heard the distinct sound of a mug breaking against a floor. She… Couldn't do this.

She'd only been in work for five minutes and already she was tempted to go home. Male colleagues everywhere had had tendencies to drop things, choke on nothing, and assume that her new look suddenly meant that she was blind, as they openly looked her up and down. Before choking again.

Female colleagues on the most part eyed her with distaste; a lot of them with wrinkled noses, obviously thinking that she were a slut.

She had only just reached her office but felt like the walk up there had taken an hour and not five minutes. She hated all the attention and felt the most self-conscious she had ever felt.

Gratefully she pushed open the door to her and Li's office, stumbling in and flopping down at her desk. She was even more relieved to see that Li hadn't yet made it in, as the last thing she wanted was to have to deal with him right now. She kicked her boots off and started her computer, immersing herself in yet more typing.

She pressed the button to print but groaned when she realised there was no paper in the feed tray. So she got up and fetched some paper from the huge mound on Li's desk. She didn't hear the office door open, but she did hear Li's surprised,

"Kinomoto, what in hell are you _wearing_?"

"Hello, Li," Sakura replied, still bent over Li's desk assembling paper into a pile, not even bothering to look around at him.

"You _really _shouldn't bend over like that, Kinomoto," Li said, still in the same spot.

"Why, can you see my panties?" Sakura asked, sounding as if she didn't care less, _still _with her back to him. Syaoran tried desperately not to think about Kinomoto's panties.

"N-no," he stuttered.

"Then it's alright," she replied, forgetting her paper as she stood up and turned around, leaning gently against the desk. Li's brown eyes widened and he didn't seem to know where to look. He immediately averted his gaze to stare around the room, his hand on the back of his neck.

"Oh, it's okay to look," Sakura purred seductively as she walked over to stand right in front of him, "I wore it for _you_, after all…"

Syaoran wished desperately that he could think of something to say that wouldn't make him sound ridiculous.

"You're still not looking…" she whispered, or rather, almost panted, one hand on his chest now, standing on her tiptoes to whisper just below his ear.

She took a step backward.

"What, don't you like it?" she pouted and twirled. He did like it. Perhaps a little _too _much. He let himself glance at her, but was immediately ashamed of himself and quickly looked away again before backing up. He realised he was against a wall with no hope of escape. She giggled and pressed herself against him as he flushed superbly.

"I knew you'd like it," she murmured, straining her legs to reach further up to him, "now tell me, aren't I better than a secretary?"

Their noses were mere centimetres apart and Syaoran's eyes were crossed as they focused on her face. He looked a combination of horrified, surprised and well… Appreciative. Sakura's arms wrapped around his neck and he leaned down to kiss her when…

"What in fu-" Ueda began, then remembered he was at work and stopped himself.

"What is going on here? I hope that you are not seducing Li-san, Kinomoto-san!" Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, knowing that this must look bad. Really, really bad. Sakura thought that her simple joke to make a fool out of Li had gone horribly, disastrously wrong.

Sakura's arms unwrapped from her colleague's neck and she held up her hands in a gesture of pleading peace.

"Listen, Mr Ueda, I know this looks bad, but-" Sakura began.

"You're damn right it looks bad! Give me one reason why I shouldn't fire you two right on the spot!" Ueda yelled.

"Listen, just hear me out, okay? The outfit- I was blackmailed into wearing it today. And I wasn't really seducing Li- I was playing a trick on him! Just to embarrass him, you see…" Sakura said quickly, trying to get her side of the story out before Ueda lost his temper.

"You were only messing around with me?" Syaoran asked, sounding furious.

"Hey, one angry male at a time, please! Besides, of course I was only messing with you! Like you would ever stand a chance!" Sakura joked.

"Ueda-san, you're not going to fire the owner of those legs, are you? And that cleavage… Okay, Kinomoto, you _really _have to change your clothes!" Syaoran had, in the beginning of his statement, been desperately trying to convince Ueda not to fire them, but it sort of turned into him just being perverted about Kinomoto. Sounding exasperated, he turned deliberately away from Sakura, as if just looking at her turned him into a major pervert. Which it did, really.

"So you two… Don't like each other?" Ueda asked, looking so enlightened it was as if he had discovered the meaning of life.

"No!" Sakura and Syaoran said together, looking disgusted.

"And you're not having an affair?" Ueda questioned further.

"Believe me when I say I'd rather vomit!" Sakura chirped cheerfully. Syaoran scowled at her.

"I'm not deaf, you know," he said. Sakura chose to ignore him.

"Right! Okay, that's great! I'll give you two a great report to the board and they'll hopefully take you off surveillance!" Ueda exclaimed, looking and sounding euphoric as he closed the door and left them.

Sakura jumped up and down and clapped her hands.

"Did you hear that, Li?"

She looked so delighted and so much like a child that Syaoran had to smile, but he felt the need to warn her of something first…

"Don't jump up and down like that. It makes your skirt flare up and I can see…"

Sakura sweatdropped.

"Let me guess. My…"

"Oh yeah. White cotton suits you," Syaoran replied.

"You are such a pervert," Sakura said.

"If I were a violent woman, you would have been slapped so many times by now…" she continued with a little shake of her head, wishing that she were a violent woman.

"Listen, Kinomoto, watch out for him. He let us off the hook so easily so… Watch out for him. He may not be the innocent good guy he appears to be," Syaoran warned her, sounding uneasy.

"Don't be such a pessimistic bore, Li," Sakura said with a roll of her emerald eyes. She grabbed both his hands and began to dance around in a circle, singing 'we got off surveillance!'

He had to laugh at her antics.

"Just, be careful. I don't want you to get hurt…"

Sakura stopped dancing and looked inquisitively at him.

"I don't care, or anything. I just… You're a girl, and girls shouldn't get hurt. Even vile, despicable ones like you. I know I would feel awful if my cousin Meiling got hurt," Syaoran said, and for a moment he looked boyishly awkward standing there, like a little boy telling his secret crush to be careful on the monkey-bars in case she fell off.

Of course, Li didn't have a crush on her.

Sakura smiled and hugged him.

"I know you care, really."

She quickly released him when she realised that this was getting weird. More to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the two, Syaoran said, "you have _got _to tell me the whole story behind that outfit!"


	8. Forgiven Nothing

Youth, which is forgiven everything, forgives itself nothing. Age, which forgives itself everything, is forgiven nothing

- Man and Superman, 1903, 'Maxims: Stray Sayings'

Butterflies Eight Forgiven Nothing

Sakura typed up her last document of the day and heaved a sigh. The light that had previously been filtering through the windows was at last weakening and she rather thought Li might be asleep, as he didn't seem to be moving much and hadn't spoken for (she checked her watch) the last half hour. Neither had she, but that was beside the point.

He was going to start snoring, she felt quite sure. In order to stop him even entertaining the thought, she threw a well-aimed ball of paper at him. He instantly jolted and exclaimed blearily, "I wasn't asleep! I wasn't asleep!"

Sakura laughed.

"I believe you, Li."

"I can go home in…Ten minutes," she said cheerfully to nobody in particular. Sakura had rather a habit of doing that, talking to nobody, but Syaoran didn't mind. Although she would never think it, he always listened.

"I'll finally be able to change out of this ridiculous outfit," she said, sounding rather content as she stretched her arms above her head, revealing a rather interesting stretch of pale skin to Syaoran as she did so.

_'Not now, Li,' _he thought and quickly looked away from the attractive brunette. He had acted perverted quite enough for one day.

"So," he said, gaze firmly back on his screen, "did you get all the product research done for Daidouji-san?"

Sakura had told him all about her clothes designer best friend when she told him the whole story behind her 'don't-I-look-like-a-hooker' outfit earlier.

"Yes, and then some," Sakura said with a laugh.

"So what did they all think?" he asked, still refusing to look at her even though she had swung around in her chair to talk to his back.

Sakura lowered her voice to sound like a man, and widened her eyes, letting her mouth fall open.

"Uh, Kinomoto-san, that's uh, quite, uh, I mean, uh…"

Syaoran laughed despite himself.

"That tends to go on for a while and then they either choke or drool. Then they make an excuse and leave, because they are embarrassing themselves. Or they ask me out," Sakura continued.

"Who asked you out?" Syaoran asked, his tone more suspicious than the one he was originally going for. Sakura laughed again.

"Mou, you sound like my onii-chan! Don't worry, none of them did it quite as charmingly as you did that day in the office," Sakura joked.

"I'm glad! I had forgotten about that," Syaoran said as he finally turned his chair to look at her. Sakura was smiling, but when they looked each other in the eye, they stopped talking. They were getting along again. And it was weird.

"Somehow," Sakura said softly, still bravely staring into endless amber with her own emeralds, "it's easier to talk to your back."

"And it's definitely easier to talk to a computer screen. Even though you're a damn sight nicer to look at," Syaoran replied.

Now he was flirting with her. And she had tried to seduce him earlier. Okay, so she had been playing a trick on him, but she couldn't deny that his warm hold on her was nice… And she had a feeling that, if Ueda hadn't come in, she would really have kissed him. Her original plan was to dart away from him at the last minute and say 'got you!' before laughing. But she wasn't sure she would have been able to do that, had Ueda not done it for her, in a way.

In a sudden horrible flash of realisation, it dawned on her that a tiny part of her had _wanted _to kiss him. And now she was banging her head off her desk, being watched by a rightfully anxious Syaoran.

"Kinomoto, are you quite-" he began, before Sakura cut him off.

"Alright? Yes, of course I am. I do this every day," and then she laughed.

"You… Do?" Syaoran asked tentatively, as if he wasn't quite sure he could possibly have heard her correctly. Sakura was tempted to yell, 'no, of course not, you idiot, don't you know sarcasm when you hear it?'

But instead she answered,

"Yes, I have a… Neurological disorder. It causes me to bang my head off things and walk into things."

"Don't people usually walk into things when they're clumsy?" Syaoran asked with an eyebrow raised, sounding skeptical.

"How can you be so mean to someone who has a neurological disorder?" Sakura asked in a sort of a wailing tone of voice.

"Simple. It's because you _don't_," Syaoran answered.

"I _do_!" Sakura protested as she tried to desperately to think of one.

"I have Obsessive Compulsive!" she announced triumphantly a few seconds later.

"Bless you," Syaoran replied, for the words sounded like a sneeze. Sakura made a noise that indicated she was both annoyed and trying desperately not to laugh.

"You're a schizophrenic klutz," Syaoran replied, sounding matter-of-fact.

"I beg your PARDON?" Sakura spluttered incredulously.

"Klutzes, like you, walk into things, and schizophrenics have a tendency to bang their heads on things in order to quieten the voices in their heads," Syaoran said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How do you know that? I think _you _are the schizophrenic!" Sakura exclaimed, and giggled in all the fake dramaticness of Syaoran's expression.

"_And _I see you walk into things all the time!" she exclaimed, with all the triumphant air of someone who had just caught their sworn enemy in the middle of murder.

"I guess we're _both _schizophrenic klutzes together, then," Syaoran said with a smile. Sakura felt the beginnings of a return smile on her face, but then she frowned.

"At least if you were schizophrenic then it would explain your split personality- nice Li and not so nice Li."

Syaoran shot her a sly grin.

"But I'm always a little bit nice, right?" he asked, obviously teasing her.

Sakura rolled her eyes and just happened to glance at her watch in the process.

"Hey, it's time to-" she began before the lights flickered.

"That was odd," Syaoran commented. Then the lights flickered again, and this time they didn't flicker back on. The room fell into darkness as the computer monitors lost their light and the streetlights in the street outside went out.

"Well," said Syaoran, sounding as unconcerned as someone who was merely commenting upon the weather, "this is just great, isn't it?"

"What will we do? I can't even see you, Li, and you're only a few feet away from me!" Sakura exlaimed, sounding panicked.

"It's okay, just keep calm, we don't need another incident like the elevator. Slide off your chair on to the floor and hold your hand out," Syaoran instructed. Sakura obeyed.

Syaoran got on to the floor as well, and a few minutes later he was waving his own hand about, hoping his hand would collide with Sakura's outstretched one. When it did, he grabbed it and moved closer to her, eventually ending up beside her. Sakura shuffled a little until they were pressed against each other- she seemed afraid.

He could feel her warm, bare leg against his pant-clad one- her skirt must have ridden up. He thought immediately that it was a pity he couldn't see. Then he thought that he was a slimeball. And then he thought that it really couldn't be helped.

"I can't see anything at all," Sakura said in a whisper.

"I know, me neither. It must have been a city-wide power cut- there are no lights in the street outside, either," Syaoran said, sounding thoughtful.

He paused and Sakura said,

"Keep talking, please. I won't be so afraid if there's continuous noise."

"So that's what you think my charming and intelligent conversation is? Continuous noise?" Syaoran teased, pretending to be offended. When Sakura didn't even make any motion to acknowledge that he had spoken, he sighed.

"I can't believe that you're twenty years old and afraid of the dark!"

"Well, you better believe it. Just be glad I haven't asked you if I can sit in your lap," Sakura said.

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"Do you want to?"

"Sit in your LAP? You're kidding, right?" Sakura asked.

He shrugged and tried to act as though he was in his right mind.

"You can, if you want to. If it'll make you feel better."

"Really? You're sure? If you're just playing around, say so now," Sakura said, sounding suspicious.

"No, I'm serious. If it'll make you feel better, you can do it," he replied. _Why _didn't he say he was kidding? The stupid part of his brain appeared to have taken over, and he was powerless to stop it.

"Well," Sakura said, sounding unsure as she clambered into a comfortable position, "thanks a lot. I really owe you- my father and brother always let me sit in their laps during powercuts."

She laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly as Syaoran's arms tentatively circled around her waist. Her legs were curled up so they didn't reach beyond the knees of Syoaran's outstrectched legs.

He could feel her breathing against his stomach, but tried not to think about it.

"Thanks, this is really… Comforting," Sakura said slowly, pausing in the middle to yawn. Was _that _what she thought of their position? Syaoran felt rather differently, but then again Sakura was in an outfit that was certainly… Interesting, to say the least.

"Li, you're not talking," Sakura whispered in objection.

"S-sorry," he stutttered before he took a deep breath to calm down. Perhaps he should talk- at least it might take his mind away from… Other matters.

He began to talk about his family in Hong Kong, simply because it was the first topic that came to his mind. Sakura nodded in all the right places and slid her arms around Syaoran's waist, hugging him tightly.

Until then, Syaoran though that the powercut was a punishment from God for having perverted thoughts about Sakura, but now he realised that the bearded guy up there was trying to make up for it now. He promised he would go to church next Sunday.


	9. Sitting Here Waiting for Someone

**Disclaimer:** CCS is not mine. Now, if I had a penny for every time I said that, I could… Buy CCS!

This chapter is again dedicated to Summer Lover

_**Butterflies nine Sitting Here Waiting for Someone**_

Syaoran was desperately fighting sleep and losing. Miserably. Not that he would have cared to admit it, but his eyelids were drooping ever more dangerously. Sakura herself had given over to slumber probably close to an hour ago. He couldn't see his watch to check- it was as dark as ever, even an hour and a half after the beginning of the power cut.

He shifted slightly- one of his legs was dead. Not that he was uncomfortable, but a dead leg was… Uncomfortable. And he was making no sense, so he gently shifted his leg to the right, terrified he would wake up Kinomoto. He released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding when she only stirred slightly, mumbled something and gripped him more tightly.

Great.

When was someone going to find them? Surely there had been other employees still in the building when the electricity had cut - Sakura and Syaoran had been planning to leave as soon as possible, after all.

He wished dearly that he was someone who was always prepared - Meiling had what seemed like a thousand useful attachments on her keys - a miniature torch, which would have come in pretty damn handy in Syaoran's current predicament, a Swiss Army knife, a padlock (in case she had to leave something unattended, so she could chain it to a tree or streetlight or something until she returned), a chain (for use with the padlock) and like a dozen novelty keychains, including a couple of little teething rings, in case she was out with one of Syaoran's sisters' kids and they got bored.

Sure, her keys weighed like a ton, but what he wouldn't give for that torch right now…

Syaoran's eyes were closing more frequently than ever, but he didn't want to sleep - he had to keep watch (even though it was so black he couldn't see) in case, a: someone tried to attack him, b: someone tried to attack Kinomoto, c: someone came to attack both of them (the darkness was making him slightly paranoid), d: someone came to find them, e: someone came to find them and didn't know they were there because they were both asleep and couldn't answer a shout or whatever, f: the power came back on or g: Kinomoto woke up terrified.

He wasn't worried about her, of course - it was just that she might scream or something, and he would rather be prepared for something like that - if he was awake then it might scare just a little less shit out of him than if she woke him up by screaming.

The need to sleep was getting to him - his thoughts were getting steadily more ridiculous. His eyes closed a little, then a little more, his breathing regulated and… He fell asleep.

Kinomoto Sakura woke up and fought the urge to scream. Someone was holding her, but she couldn't see them. In fact, she couldn't see anything. She gave whoever was holding her a sharp nudge with her elbow, and they jolted awake.

"I'm here! I'm awake!" Syaoran yelled groggily and Sakura sighed in pure relief as she recognised Syaoran's voice and she remembered what had happened.

"Have I been on your lap this whole time?" Sakura asked suddenly.

"We're trapped in our office during a black-out and THAT'S what you're worried about?" Syaoran asked, sounding disbelieving.

"How come your legs aren't dead?" she ploughed on, ignoring his outburst.

"Believe me, Kinomoto, when I say they are beyond dead. They've died about one hundred times - I don't think I'll ever feel anything in my legs again," he answered. Sakura sounded horrified when she gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" she breathed, and scooted to the side and off his legs. Syaoran felt kind of bad that he made her feel so awful when he was half-joking, but the sensation of blood returning to his legs distracted him.

"Oh! Ohhh! Ohhhh…." he moaned, unsettling Sakura somewhat.

"Could you please be a little quieter?" she asked, sounding distinctly uncomfortable as she wrung her hands nervously.

"Why, am I disturbing Princess Kinomoto? I'm so sorry - perhaps you forgot the reason my legs are dead is you," he spat as he massaged them frantically to try and assist the natural flow of blood.

'Don't you DARE tell him that it's a turn-on,' Sakura ordered herself, including that stupid part of her brain that often caused her to voice things the sane part of her wanted to keep secret.

"Uh, yeah…" Sakura answered vaguely, secretly congratulating herself for keeping the stupid part of her under control.

"I think we should try to get out of here," Syaoran said suddenly a few moments later.

"How do you propose we do THAT?" Sakura asked, her voice clearly indicating that she thought he was being ridiculous.

"Simple - we hold hands and crawl out through the door and out on to the corridor. We'll each have a hand free to help ourselves feel our way down," Syaoran answered, as if this solution were blindingly obvious and one that Sakura should have thought of a long time ago.

"Li, that is THE STUPIDEST thing I have EVER HEARD!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hey, haven't you ever seen 'Titanic'? They managed to get on to the top deck of that ship while it was sinking and there was water up to their necks. I think we can deal with a little power cut!" Syaoran reasoned.

"Li, you're being ridiculous! We are on the THIRTEENTH floor! It's pitch black! We would DIE before we made it out!" Sakura yelled, feeling utterly hopeless.

"I guess you're right, but I just feel so… Useless, siting here waiting for someone," Syaoran said with a sigh as he ran a hand backwards through his unruly hair.

"Listen, I feel exactly the same, but there's nothing else we can do. The electricity's bound to come back on soon, and even if it doesn't, someone will come looking for us. The security guards definitely have torches - they'll be along in no time, you'll see," Sakura said, trying to sound as comforting as possible.

There was a sudden noise, like a creaking floorboard, and in the darkness it sounded quite sinister. Syaoran grabbed Sakura around the waist and pulled her towards him in a defensive gesture - he was still feeling paranoid and didn't want to take any chances.

"Syaoran!" Sakura gasped in shock. Syaoran quite forgot about the noise at that point.

"Did you just call me 'Syaoran'?" Syaoran asked her, his voice indicating that he was smiling, whether he just found the whole thing funny or whether he was annoyed, Sakura couldn't guess.

"Yes, but it was an accident. I-I'm sorry, it was very disrespectful of me -" Sakura began babbling before Syaoran effectively cut her off by placing his fingers on her chin and lower cheek.

"Don't apologise," he murmured. Sakura's breath hitched in her throat.

"Wait a minute, what part of you am I touching?" Syaoran asked, sounding slightly worried.

"My cheek/chin," Sakura answered in an 'I'm-so-cool-I-didn't-eevn-notice-or-at-least-that's-what-I'm-telling-myself' tone. Syaoran immediately let out a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a yelp and drew his fingers back so quickly it was as if he had been burned.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have touched you there, it's just that I can't see, and-" Syaoran began to babble, fearing that Kinomoto's calmness indicated that he was about to be punched.

"Did you just apologise? Wow, I think I'm hearing things! Don't apologise- I've sat on top of you before and everything, I hardly think you touching my face by accident is-" Sakura began, before Syaoran took his turn to interrupt her.

"Hey, what happened to 'Syaoran'?" he asked in a teasing tone. He could imagine Sakura's face reddening even though he couldn't see.

"What do you mean, 'what happened to 'Syaoran''?" Sakura asked, feigning ignorance.

"You know exactly what I mean," he replied, 'it's just that I preferred 'Syaoran' in that gaspy, shocked way you just said it to 'Li, you are the biggest asshole I have ever had the misfortune of meeting' in that tone of exasperation and disgust, the way you usually say it."

For once, Sakura didn't know what to say. She didn't know he ever noticed the way she said his name, and she definitely didn't know he cared, however tiny the emotion was.

"Well, I like being apologised to, but we don't always get what we want, do we? I told you that calling you by your first name that once was an accident," Sakura said.

"You like being apologised to?" Syaoran asked, sounding slightly disbelieving.

"Yes, I do. Of COURSE I do! Who doesn't like someone to tell you they're sorry when they hurt or wrong you?" Sakura asked.

"You just don't seem like the type of person who would like something so stupid and simple so much…" he said thoughtfully, then, "If you don't call me Syaoran then I will never apologise to you EVER again," he threatened.

"Well, fine, then! I will NEVER refer to you as Syaoran! You'll always be 'Li', the perverted, annoying slug that I share an office with. And I'll say your name with all the disgust and exasperation I wish!" Sakura exclaimed.

Syaoran was slightly hurt by that, but said quickly,

"And YOU are still 'Kinomoto', that WHINING LITTLE GIRL who needs to lose some weight who thinks she can do an executive job and who also thinks she's funny, pretty, smart, has really soft hair and smells great. But I don't think she's pretty or funny or smells great or ANYTHING like that!"

Sakura stopped for a moment. Was she really a whining little girl? Was that what he really thought? And did she really need to lose weight?

"Well, FINE BY ME!" she yelled, proud of her quick recovery.

"And I'm not apologising for calling you a whining little girl. Or for saying you're carrying extra weight, because you sat on me for over an hour so I should KNOW!" he shouted.

"I don't want you to apologise!" Sakura replied, her voice still louder than usual.

Even though she really, desperately did want him to apologise. A girl's weight was always one of the things she was most sensitive about and he had just been really cruel about hers.

"I'm never apologising to you EVER. Not if I call you fat again, not even if I hurt you so bad you CRY-" he rattled off.

"Okay, I get the idea!" Sakura yelled, trying to keep the tears in her eyes and fighting hard to stop her voice from quivering.

"I just want you to understand that I will never say 'sorry' under even the most extreme circumstances. Not even if I do this!"

And he grabbed her shoulders in both his hands and, in one swift motion, pressed his lips against hers.


	10. Strawberries and Chocolate

_**Disclaimer:**_ CCS is not mine. Now, if I had a penny for every time I said that, I could… Buy CCS! Shattered laughs

_Butterflies Ten Strawberries and Chocolate That NEVER Happened_

Her lips tasted vaguely of strawberries, and somehow chocolate at the same time. Perhaps… Chocolate-covered strawberries. Yes, definitely a strawberry with melted chocolate dripping off it…

He wanted to smack his forehead off something.

Sakura had frozen the moment he'd put his lips to hers. His hands were still gripping her shoulders gently, but she was in exactly the same position she had been all along. He desperately wanted her to push him away, slap him, yell at him, ask him what in hell he was doing… Or kiss him back, but that was certainly nothing if not unlikely.

But she still didn't move. And somehow, that was worse than anything else.

He let go of her shoulders and pulled away, sitting back where he had been before he'd leaned forward. They sat in silence for a few seconds, only the sound of each other's breathing reaching their ears. Syaoran couldn't stand it any longer.

"Say something, do something… Anything," he pleaded.

"What," Sakura's voice was shaking as she clenched and unclenched her fists, "do you want me to say, Li?"

"I don't care what you do or say, but please-" he began, his voice quiet.

"Why should I say or do anything, Li?" Sakura asked, her voice still quiet and shaking.

"WHY SHOULD I SAY OR DO ANYTHING?" she yelled finally into the darkness, biting back tears of rage, frustration and sadness.

Good, she was angry again. Syaoran could deal with Kinomoto when she was angry, at least.

"I don't know-" he began quietly.

"You don't know? YOU DON'T KNOW?" Sakura shouted, her voice hitching as those damn tears fell from her eyes.

"No, I don't know. I don't know why I did it, either," he said quietly, thoughtfully, trying to ignore the fact that this time Kinomoto was really, truly angry at him.

"Well, because of this, I have to quit the Deputy Head job," Sakura said, with a bitter, ironic smile. Of course she couldn't keep her job - she never wanted to see him again.

"I really thought things were going better between us, but this is what you wanted all along, isn't it? To get rid of me? You finally proved that Kinomoto Sakura can't handle the pressures of an executive job. This was your angle all along," she said as she absolutely wept. How could she have EVER even CONSIDERED becoming friends with him?

"No, no, you can't quit, it's my fault, I… I'll quit. You keep your job - you're good at it," he admitted quietly. Sakura blinked in surprise.

"No, you can't quit, the company needs you. Where else are they going to find a new Head? The blow to the company would be too great if you quit, and I loved working here, so I won't let something as bad as losing a Head of department happen to them because of me," Sakura replied.

"Then that only leaves one solution: neither one of us quits, and we work through this," Syaoran said calmly.

"No way! I'll quit, and that'll be it," Sakura said, with an air of finality.

"No," Syaoran said fiercely, "I'm not letting you quit. I'll quit myself before I let you do something so stupid."

And he was telling the truth. That was the scariest part. He would rather give up his own job than see her throw her talent down the drain. She'd worked so hard to get where she was, he wouldn't let her give up.

Sakura was taken aback at the tone of his voice. He really wasn't going to let her change his mind on this, was he?

Tentatively, Syaoran reached forward and lightly gripped Sakura's forearm. She flinched at his touch, but didn't demand he let go.

"Kinomoto, anything is better than this," he said.

"I was a bastard for doing… What I did. I don't even know why I did it, I guess I just got so caught up in the argument… I'm so, so sorry, please don't quit because of me, we make a good team when we actually manage to work together. And you're also not carrying ANY extra weight AT ALL, I was only trying to make you mad-" Syaoran babbled, before Sakura neatly cut him off.

"So you don't know why you kissed me, huh?" she asked, her voice calm, and even holding a hint of amusement. Syaoran winced, certain she was about to start yelling again.

"That's right," he replied nervously. Sakura laughed suddenly.

"Then, that's fine," she said.

"What?" Syaoran asked her, clearly he was missing something.

"As far as I'm concerned, this never happened. You were so caught up in the argument that you temporarily lost your mind. Since you had no control over your actions, it may as well never have happened. As this NEVER HAPPENED, there is no need to talk about it or think about it EVER AGAIN and so there is no reason AT ALL for anyone to give up their jobs. There is also certainly no reason for it to change anything between us. After all, things that NEVER HAPPENED have no bearing in real life, among things that DID HAPPEN, right?" Sakura explained, sounding, at least to Syaoran, a little hysterical as she wrung her hands nervously.

"It never happened," Syaoran said, as if testing the theory out.

"Right," Sakura nodded.

"It shall never be mentioned again," Syaoran said.

"Absolutely not," Sakura spoke in a tone that indicated that she thought he was being absurd for even wondering about it.

"And things will go back to EXACTLY the way they were before I temporarily lost my mind?" he ventured, sounding hopeful.

"Of course," she said confidently. What she didn't say was that things would go back to the way they were on the outside, but she would never think of him the same way again.

Syaoran knew that she was lying, of course. How could things go back to being they way they were before, now that he knew she tasted like chocolate and strawberries?

But he didn't say a word. If she could lie, then so could he. And, with a little lie, they could both be comforted. What was the harm in that?

"I'm sorry," Syaoran whispered into the darkness.

"What for?" Sakura asked, equally as quietly.

_For making you cry. For causing you pain. For doing something so stupid and reckless for no reason. For knowing that you taste like strawberries and chocolate. For being the last person that you would want to know that._

Syaoran smiled mirthlessly.

"Everything."

It was three hours after the start of the power cut when Ueda entered Sakura and Syaoran's office with a flashlight to find the pair asleep side by side.

"Wake up!" he hissed as he poked the pair gently. They opened their eyelids slowly, and Sakura screamed when she saw the not-properly-lit face of Ueda so close to hers.

"What, what is it, Kinomoto?" Syaoran yelled sleepily, suddenly alert.

"It's just me, Ueda!" Ueda said, trying to sound reassuring. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God, I didn't recognise you because your face was only half-lit. I thought you were some murderer, or rapist or a - An axe-wielding maniac!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Thanks," Ueda said dryly.

"Yes, Sakura, of course you see murderers, rapists and axe-wielding maniacs everyday on the thirteenth floors of buildings during power cuts," Syaoran said sarcastically.

"Will you two stop making fun of me?" Sakura wailed, but she was giggling herself as she shoved Syaoran gently and the two men laughed.

"Anyway, Ueda-san, was there really any point in you coming to get us? We might be able to get out of the building, but it's pitch-black outside, there's no way we could get home," Syaoran said to the blonde man.

"No, I'm not here to get you out, I'm here to bring you with me downstairs. A few other staff and I are searching the building with flashlights and taking all employees down to the first floor. You two are the only people left on the thirteenth floor, and someone else is busy searching the fourteenth, so come down with me. All the other employees with offices on the first to twelfth floors are already down in the reception area," Ueda explained.

"So you're aiming to get all the employees down on to the first floor so we can wait all together until the power comes back on?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed.

Ueda nodded.

"Okay, then," Syaoran said, and he got to his feet before offering his hand to Sakura and helping her to her feet, "let's go."

And the trio made their way out of the office and slowly down the stairs.

Eventually they reached the first floor, which was brightly lit - everyone present was holding either a flashlight or a candle. Around three hundred employees had been discovered already and they stood talking, huddled in groups. As soon as they saw Ueda they began firing questions at him and crowded around him as he nervously spluttered.

"When will the power come back on? What will we do? How will we get home?" and also, a lot of statements that weren't questions at all, such as,

"I was supposed to pick my kid up from her babysitter three hours ago!" and "Oh my God, my mother, I was supposed to cook her dinner tonight, she must be starving!" and even one person yelling, "Good God, my cat! She'll be sitting at the door and wondering where I am!"

Ueda didn't know what to say, there was too much shouting going on.

Finally Syaoran yelled, "SHUT UP!"

And everyone immediately fell silent. Nobody messed with the Head of Advertising.

"Now, over to you, Ueda-san," Syaoran said calmly.

"Okay, thank you, Li-san. Now, if you ask me questions ONE AT A TIME, I MIGHT be able to answer. But if I don't know, I just don't know, I'm afraid," Ueda instructed the mass of anxious employees.

A young woman who couldn't be more than eighteen spoke up first.

"Do you have any idea when the power will be back on, Ueda-san?" she asked timidly.

"I'm afraid that's one of the questions I just don't know how to answer," Ueda said apologetically, "It could be any time from now until tomorrow morning. Something went very badly wrong at Tokyo Power Station, and all service has been cut off for now. That's all I know."

"So we could be stuck here all NIGHT?" An older female secretary with long scarlet nails wailed.

"I'm afraid so," Ueda said. Immediately all the noise began to start up again, and so Ueda just stayed silent and waited for them to be quiet once more.

"How will we sleep here if we do get stuck here?" a man in a pinstripe suit managed somehow to yell over the other people. The crowd immediately was quiet as they wanted to hear Ueda's answer.

"We'll all just have to lie on the floor. We don't have any sleeping-bags or nearly enough blankets to do everyone -" Ueda's answer was choked by the people immediately beginning to object to this, and since there were three hundred people who all began shouting angrily at the same time, the noise was simply deafening.

Ueda just couldn't take it any more, and he walked away into a corner by himself. The crowd followed him, angrily demanding answers from him that he didn't have. Ueda did nothing but sat silently while the employees practically rioted around him.

"I feel so sorry for Ueda-san," Sakura said quietly to Syaoran.

"I know, he doesn't deserve all this…" Syaoran replied. Sakura was looking intently at Ueda, so Syaoran took the opportunity to study her face. He hadn't seen her since he had kissed her.

Looking at her now didn't make him feel all that different to when he looked at her before, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Then, damn her, she turned to him and smiled, and his stomach flipped over.

'God, if you're up there,' Syaoran thought, 'you have a very peculiar sense of humour.'


	11. Questions and Answers, Serene Sleeping

Chapter Eleven

Serene Sleeping

All the employees were now sitting in groups on the floor, huddled into balls of light as candles and torches shone brightly. People looked dazed and tired - all had given up on getting any more information out of Ueda. Syaoran noticed that Sakura looked particularly exhausted, her green eyes oddly blank as they stared at nothing.

"You can go to sleep, you know," Syaoran whispered softly to her. She shook her head in response.

"I promise I won't do anything," Syaoran said with a roll of his eyes, "in fact, I'll protect you. Nobody will come near you if I'm here."

"That," Sakura said, looking infinitely more comfortable all of a sudden, "wasn't what I was worried about."

"Yes, it was," Syaoran said with a grin. Now it was Sakura's turn to roll her eyes.

"You think you know everything," Sakura said accusingly, but a lazy smile was curving her lips.

"That's because I do know everything," Syaoran teased.

Sakura laid her head on Syaoran's shoulder.

"You," she paused to yawn widely, "wish."

And with that, she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

...

Syaoran kept his word, and watched over her all night. It wasn't like he could bloody well get to sleep anyway, with… Her… There. All he could think about was her breath against his neck, the soft silk of her hair that fell everywhere, the way she smelled… And strawberries and chocolate. And how, suddenly, he wanted to taste strawberries and chocolate more than anything else…

This was NOT HAPPENING. If it was, it was all the irony he could think of. He forced himself to think of other things, but still every hour dragged on like a week…

...

Sakura stretched and yawned.

"Good morning, Li," she said, her voice holding more than just a hint of surprise when she realised he was still awake. She checked her watch. 8:00 A.M.

"So," she said to Syaoran, whose eyes were wide open and lined with red veins, "did you sleep for a while in the middle of the night then wake up again?"

"Nope," said Syaoran, and it sounded suspiciously as if his teeth were gritted, "I've been awake ALL NIGHT."

"Really? You didn't need to stay awake all night just to watch me, you know," Sakura said, sounding embarrassed as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. Syaoran shrugged.

"I said I would watch over you, and I did. I'm a man of my word," Syaoran said with a shrug. Of course, that wasn't the reason he hadn't slept. He simply hadn't been able to…

"Well, thank you…" Sakura said with a sleepy smile as she stretched her arms above her head and flushed with embarrassment. Syaoran wanted very desperately to yell at her for something, but couldn't think of anything she had done wrong.

"'S okay," he mumbled, already looking around the room at other people, a good number of whom were still sleeping. Around two hundred people were left, Syaoran estimated. Suddenly curious, he got to his feet and walked to a light-switch. He almost laughed in delight when a light came on, despite the fact that it wasn't necessary, given the sunshine of the morning.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise, and she really DID laugh delightedly. Suddenly, not too far from her, Ueda jumped awake.

"What time is it?" he demanded blearily.

"Eight A.M.," Sakura supplied cheerfully.

"Crap. That's just crap," Ueda replied.

"Well, SOMEBODY'S not a morning person," Sakura stated, sounding a little hurt.

"No, it's not your fault," Ueda said quickly when he realised she had misinterpreted his words as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, "it's just that… Li-san, how many people are left here?"

"About two hundred, I think, Ueda-san," Syaoran answered promptly from his position at the light-switch. Sakura's eyes betrayed her confusion.

"Well, that's not so bad," Ueda answered.

"Is something wrong, Mr Ueda?" Sakura asked in a concerned tone.

"Well, Kinomoto-san, it's like this: when there was a power-cut last night, it was five P.M.," Ueda began. Sakura nodded very seriously, and said, "right, with you so far," in such a serious fashion that Syaoran had to choke back a laugh.

"Which is the earliest time employees normally start to think about leaving," Ueda continued. Sakura nodded again.

"As you know, the company works by everyone having to do a certain number of hours each week, so not everyone goes home at five. I think we've lost a lot of hours of work because of the power-cut. For a start, lots of people who would have worked until later last night couldn't, and I'll bet everything I own that we're going to get a tonne of people calling in sick tomorrow, because they want to go home and sleep," Ueda said, rubbing his temples with his fingertips and screwing up his eyes in intense concentration.

"Yeah," Sakura said, pausing as she waited for him to continue.

"So I was hoping to go round people and ask them if they would go home for about two hours and come back in and work the rest of today. I only need around fifty people," Ueda concluded. Sakura looked worried.

"Ueda-san, I'm afraid I don't think many people will be tempted -" Sakura began, but Ueda interrupted her.

"I'll pay them triple overtime!" he said. Sakura and Syaoran exchanged a Look, as if to say 'why do I have a funny feeling we're being volunteered for this?'

"Well, count Li and I in!" Sakura chirped, trying to ignore the death glare her office-mate shot at her, "See you in a couple of hours!"

And she dragged Syaoran out the door with her.

"Li, I -" she began when they were out in the sunny parking-lot, but Syaoran shook his head with an odd sort of a grin.

"Nah, it's okay, I know what you're like. He looked so pathetic and hopeful, and you just couldn't resist," Syaoran said. Sakura looked sheepish.

"I know, I'm sorry, I-" she paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words, "thank you." She said, eyes shining, and, after looking sort of lost for a moment, quickly threw her arms around his neck in a brief hug.

"I'll see you later!" she said as she ran to her car. As soon as Syaoran reckoned she was far enough away, he slumped to the ground.

"This is so BLOODY INCONVENIENT!" he yelled, causing several startled birds to fly out of nearby trees.

Just then Sakura drove past him in her car. She stopped, her window rolled down.

"Li, did I just hear you yell something?" she asked, looking bewildered. Syaoran jumped to his feet.

"I was just… Shouting about what a… beautiful morning it is!" he gabbled. Sakura smiled, but it was a little uneasy.

"Okay, see you later," she answered as she drove out, apparently satisfied. Probably a little frightened, but satisfied.

"Yes," Syaoran muttered, "what a beautiful morning. Birds are singing, the sun is shining, there's a demented man yelling and telling unconvincing lies in the parking-lot… Yeah, what a bloody beautiful morning."

...

When Sakura arrived home, Tomoyo wasn't there. There was, however, a note stuck on the fridge.

'Sakura, I'm at Eriol's. I hope you had a good day at work. In case you didn't, and Li-san was as much of a pain in the ass as always, there's alcohol and chocolate in the fridge.

Tomoyo'

Sakura laughed. Tomoyo was so perceptive. Sakura figured she must have written it yesterday afternoon, then got stranded at Eriol's house last night. Sakura shrugged, lifted a half-melted chocolate bar from the fridge, and headed up the stairs to take a shower.


	12. Push Harder, Godammit!

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own CCS. Now, if I had a penny for every time I said that, I could… Buy CCS!

- Butterflies -

- Twelve -

- Push Harder, Godammit! -

Eriol (A.N. Yay! He finally made an APPEARANCE! I managed to keep a PROMISE! Woohoo!) looked at Tomoyo with all the disbelief in the world in his blue eyes.

"You're not serious," he said, sounding damn serious himself.

"Believe me, dear, when I say I'm one million percent serious," Tomoyo said with a sigh.

"How could this have HAPPENED! We were so CAREFUL! This is the last thing we need right now!" Eriol ranted.

"I KNOW THAT! Believe it or not, I didn't WANT this to happen EITHER!" Tomoyo yelled.

"How are we going to tell your mother?" Eriol asked.

...

Hibiya Ueda had plenty of reason to smile as he walked down the corridor. It was a bright sunny morning, birds were singing… And there were some strange sounds coming from behind the door of the office he had just passed. Kinomoto and Li's office - they had arrived an hour ago, along with the other employees he had managed to convince to return.

He walked back a few paces and leaned against the door, listening intently.

"Push HARDER, GODAMMIT!" a female voice, undoubtedly Sakura, yelled.

"I'm pushing as hard as I can!" Syaoran replied, his voice also a yell.

"Well, it's not good enough!" Sakura replied with a groan.

"We shouldn't be up on this table, we're gonna break it!" Sakura yelled.

"We have to be on the table for this part!" Syaoran replied.

As this dialogue was puntured by bouts of grunting and groaning, Ueda began to get rather a… Disturbing… I dea as to what the two inhabitants might be doing.

"Try a little harder! Are you a man or aren't you?" Sakura asked.

"YOU should be the LAST person in any doubt of THAT," Syaoran replied.

"I KNEW we should have got someone to help us with this!" Sakura exclaimed.

HELP THEM? Ueda couldn't quite believe his ears.

"Maybe if I turn around on to my back…" Syaoran said thoughtfully.

"No need! I can see it now!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, where is it?" Syaoran asked.

"You should know!" she shot back.

"This table's too slippery!" Syaoran moaned.

"Well, we tried being down on the carpet, but that didn't work!"

Ueda whimpered.

Sakura yelped.

"You deserved that," Syaoran said, "you were the one who told me to push harder!"

"Well, how was I to know you would push quite that HARD?"

"Did you know there's a hole down here?" Syaoran asked.

"Well, that's what I EXPECTED!" Sakura shouted.

"Try using your fingers!" Sakura suggested, "and poke around a lot."

"I can't! My fingers are too big!" Syaoran protested.

"Well, if the hole's too small, there's not much I can do about it!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Maybe if you would hold still…" Syaoran grunted.

"But I like moving around!" Sakura protested.

"Maybe you should get off the table," Sakura suggested.

"Well, if I'm getting off the table, then YOU'RE coming too!"

"Yeah, I kinda figured that. You sorta need me for this, don't you?" Sakura said with a laugh.

"Oh wait, Li, you're almost there!" Sakura gasped.

Syaoran grunted in response.

"Just a little further…" she said.

"Hey, this is harder than it looks, you know!" Syaoran snapped.

Ueda decided he had had enough.

"WHAT IN HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING IN HERE?" Ueda yelled as he pushed the door open to reveal Sakura and Syaoran looking flushed and sweaty, but still perfectly innocent.

...

"How are we going to tell my mother WHAT exactly?" Tomoyo asked.

"I mean, we'll have to tell her that there is no way -" Eriol began.

"She's going to be allowed to organise our wedding. I know," Tomoyo said with a sigh.

"I just can't believe she offered. We were so careful to make it seem like we knew exactly what we were doing as to all the wedding arrangements. Your mother meddling is the LAST thing we need right now," Eriol said with a sigh.

"I know, dear, I know," Tomoyo said softly.

...

"Anything wrong, Ueda-san?" Sakura asked politely.

"You! Him! I! Thought! What? Why?" he babbled, as he pointed at them.

"Oh, Mr Ueda, you thought we were doing it again, didn't you?" Sakura asked with a laugh, as if it were funny. Even though it wasn't.

"There's a totally innocent explanation for all the noises, Mr Ueda," Syaoran said with a glare at Sakura.

"You see, I dropped my pencil," Sakura began.

"And it rolled along the floor and under that really tall filing cabinet," Syaoran continued.

"So Syaoran and I tried to move the filing cabinet while standing on the floor. Li was rather reluctant to help, but since it was his fault I dropped it in the first place -" Sakura said, giving Syaoran a Look.

"It was NOT my fault!" Syaoran objected.

"It WAS your fault! You scared me on purpose so I would drop it and you KNEW that was my favourite pink Hello Kitty pencil!" Sakura exclaimed.

Syaoran wanted to roll his eyes. Of COURSE he scared her on purpose - he had to do something mean to her to remind him that, with Kinomoto, that was what he was supposed to do. Of course, like the idiot he was, he just ended up feeling bad for doing it. Damn.

"Well, I tried to help you get it back, didn't I?" Syaoran snapped. Sakura had to admit that that was true, but she didn't say anything. Eventually Syaoran said something to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled over the trio.

"But, because the filing cabinet was so tall, it was impossible to get the momentum required to move it while standing on the floor," Syaoran explained.

"In plain Japanese, that means 'we had to get up higher.' So we climbed on to my desk, which is beside the cabinet," Sakura said helpfully.

"And we pushed REALLY hard, and at the start it didn't work, but eventually we managed to push it far enough over," Syaoran said.

"Well, actually, I pushed," Sakura said with a sigh.

"I pushed too! Why do you think I'm so tired-looking then, huh?" Syaoran exclaimed.

"Anyway, we found there was a hole in the floor which the pencil must have rolled down," said Sakura, expertly ignoring Syaoran in the way only she could.

"And I tried to lean down and reach it while still on the table, but that didn't work," Syaoran continued.

"So we went down on to the floor - I went too because Li was going to need me when he finally admitted his hands were just too big and weren't going to fit," Sakura said.

"And I had almost reached it when you came in," Syaoran finished.

"Well, that all seems to check out, except that it doesn't explain why you were telling Sakura to hold still," Ueda said slowly. Sakura immediately looked sheepish.

"Well, I was shaking the table on purpose to be annoying," she explained as she rubbed the back of her neck and sweatdropped.

"And why did Sakura yelp?" Ueda asked in tones of wondering.

"Well, I pushed the cabinet so hard she lost her balance," Syaoran said, looking just as embarrassed as Sakura at his childish behaviour.

"And you're all flushed and sweaty because of the effort required to move the cabinet," Ueda continued. Sakura beamed at him, as if he were a three-year-old who finally understood that one and one equal two.

"Exactly," she said.

"Oh, well I'm glad it wasn't what I thought," Ueda said with a relieved sigh.

"Oh, and I meant to ask, how's the packing going? You're leaving tomorrow for that convention thing, aren't you?"

...

(A.N. Ah ha, and YOU all thought I had FORGOTTEN the business convention, didn't you?)

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo asked Sakura later that night, in a perfect imitation of Ueda earlier, "how's the packing going?"

"Unsurprisingly," Sakura answered from her position reclining on her bed, "not good."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. She was standing in the doorway to Sakura's room and poking her head around the door.

The room was a mess, with clothes thrown everywhere and an empty, open suitcase lying in the middle of the floor.

"Why am I not surprised?" Tomoyo asked with a smile.

"Possibly because I'm the WORST packer in the world," Sakura replied with her own grin.

"It's also possibly because you're lying on your bed not doing anything, and also possibly because you don't really want to go, so you can't face packing," Tomoyo said, her finger on her chin in a thoughtful pose.

"Tomoyo," Sakura said with a sigh, "you know me too well."

"So, since you have to leave TOMORROW, and you haven't even STARTED, would you perhaps like a hand from possibly the BEST packer in the world?" Tomoyo asked with a laugh.

"By the way, Tomoyo, have I told you lately that you're my very best friend and I love you to pieces?" Sakura asked as she hopped off her bed.

"Well, you were the one who crowned me 'best packer in the world' the last time I helped you pack for something, so that's enough of a compliment," Tomoyo replied as she began to pick up the clothes and ask Sakura whether or not she wanted to take each garment before folding it up in the way only Tomoyo could, and putting it away neatly.

...

Li Syaoran was in a very bad mood. His packing was only half-way through, and he couldn't for the life of him find his passport. The plane to Tokyo was leaving in six hours, and, unless he got a move on, he wouldn't be on it.

...

"Sakura-chan, you really must go to bed," Tomoyo said worriedly.

"But I'm not tired," Sakura protested, rather like a small child.

"You will be in the morning if you don't go to bed right now. You have to be at the airport to catch the plane for six. Now march your butt straight upstairs this second!" Tomoyo ordered, pointing in the direction of the stairs to add extra athority.

Sakura grumpily made for the stairs, muttering a "yes, okaa-san" as she went. Tomoyo rolled her eyes at her housemate's childish behaviour.

Syaoran fell asleep in his clothes at three A.M. the morning of the flight, in the middle of his bedroom floor, his packing STILL not quite finished, but his passport safe on his nightstand.

Tomoyo went to check on Sakura fifteen minutes after she sent her to bed, and she chuckled when she saw her best friend already sound asleep.

''Not tired', my ass,' she thought with a smile as she headed to her own bedroom.

...


	13. Pregnant Eloping

_Disclaimer:_ I don't own CCS.

…

**Butterflies**

…

**Thirteen**

…

_Pregnant Eloping_

…

Li Syaoran was running slightly late. Only slightly, mind. It was five A.M. and he had to finish packing, have a shower, get dressed, drive down to the airport, find Kinomoto, check in and board the plane in the next hour.

But he could do that, right?

…

Kinomoto Sakura awoke with a moan when she realised what day it was, and wanted to cry when she saw what time it was. She hauled herself out of bed, immensely glad that Tomoyo had assisted her in packing the night before and stumbled to the bathroom as she wiped sleep from her eyes with a huge yawn.

…

Syaoran threw the last remaining items he wanted to bring into his suitcase and ran into the bathroom to take the fastest shower he had ever taken.

…

Sakura emerged from the shower feeling refreshed and a great deal more awake. She glanced at her clock. Four-thirty A.M. No problem, she still had plenty of time. She dressed and walked down into the kitchen, where a piece of paper with her name in big lettering sat on the table.

_'Sakura,' _it said, '_good luck with the convention. Have a good flight, and a nice trip. Even though you are with Li-san, try not to go insane. Or murder him. Neither would be very pleasant. Sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye in person, but I didn't feel like getting up in what is practically the middle of the night._

_Tomoyo_

_P.S. Do you have your toothbrush? I can't remember if I packed it. Well, you could always use Li-san's (giggle). Oh, great, now you're going to kill me the next time you see me. Oh well, it was worth it._

_Remember to lift your passport from your top drawer in your cabinet, and your plane ticket too (I put it with your passport)._

_Have fun, but not too much fun ;-) After all, you've been… Having an awful lot of fun with Li-san lately, shall we say (wink) Do your damnedest at the actual businessy bit, too._

_Eriol told me to tell you good luck too._

_Oh, and while you're being told by a woman where the exits are, think of your poor best friend and her equally unfortunate fiancé who have to tell my mother that we want to organise our OWN wedding. In fact, there might not be a Tomoyo for you to come back to…_

_Good luck, I'm missing you already!'_

Sakura smiled as she folded up the note. She was actually torn between whether she wanted to go and hug Tomoyo for being sweet or strangle her for all the references she made to Sakura and Li's 'affair'. That was typical Tomoyo, but Sakura loved her anyway.

…

Syaoran looked at his watch. Five-thirty A.M. He had thirty minutes to eat breakfast, drive to the airport, find Kinomoto, check in and board. In fact, skip breakfast - he wasn't _that_ hungry.

…

Sakura looked at her watch as swallowed a mouthful of cereal. Four-forty-five A.M. She'd have to get going soon. She put her empty bowl in the sink and picked up her suitcase before dragging it to her car and slamming the trunk shut after she threw it in.

She got into the driver's seat and turned her key in the ignition before she realised that she hadn't lifted her passport and plane ticket. Feeling stupid, she took the keys back out of the ignition and dashed back inside the house.

…

Syaoran decided that, because there were no other drivers on the road, he could speed rather severely. Five-forty A.M. and it would be at least another five minutes before he arrived at the airport. Great.

…

Sakura had driven at a legal speed to the airport, and when she arrived it was five-ten A.M. She hauled her suitcase out of the trunk of her car after she found somewhere to park. Tomoyo was coming by later to pick up her car and take it back to their house.

She stood by the entrance to the airport to wait for Li, but hoped he wouldn't be long- checking in and finding out where to go to get your plane sometimes took a long time.

…

Syaoran felt like he was having a heart attack. He pulled his suitcase as fast as he could towards the airport entrance and, saying goodbye to looking at least partly sane, simply yelled 'Kinomoto!' over and over again. It was stupid of them, really - they should have got each other's cell phone numbers so they could at least contact each other.

…

Sakura glanced at her watch - five-thirty-A.M. Li must have been running late - she'd been standing for about twenty minutes looking lost and stupid. If he didn't get here soon, they were in danger of missing their flight. Every time someone walked past, Sakura's head snapped around to look at them, especially if they were about the same height as Li.

People were actually muttering about whether she was waiting to elope with someone, but they hadn't turned up. Or maybe she was waiting for someone who wasn't coming. Sakura's face burned with embarrassment as people said how sorry they felt for her, and she vowed to murder Li Syaoran with her bare hands when he turned up. _If_ he turned up.

…

Syaoran gulped. He had spotted Kinomoto at the airport entrance and she looked murderous. Hardly surprising really, as it was… He gasped. Five-fifty A.M.! He hadn't thought it was quite _that_ bad…

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" Sakura roared as soon as she saw Syaoran.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry!" he babbled. Then he took a proper look at her face.

"Have you been… Crying, Kinomoto?" he asked softly, immediately feeling terrible. Yesterday had really been business as usual, with plenty more arguments after the pencil incident, so he hadn't really been able to concentrate on the (ahem) beautiful morning. If you get my drift.

"Of course not!" she snapped.

"Now, we have to get to the check-in desk RIGHT NOW, because if we don't, I don't think that we're going to make it to this convention," Sakura said, suddenly business-like.

"Right," Syaoran replied, and he took hold of Sakura's suitcase as well as his own and they ran inside.

"I'm so glad that nice girl's boyfriend made it in time," an elderly woman said to her companion.

"Yes, she deserves to have a nice time eloping after waiting for so long. How romantic- a mad dash to the check-in," the other elderly woman replied. The two women sighed as they remembered their youth, and all the crazy things they did.

…

"Check-in point… B! This way, Li! Hurry up!" Sakura cried. Syaoran grunted behind her.

"It's easy for you to say, you're not the one dragging two ridiculously heavy suitcases!" Syaoran replied.

They made it to the check-in point, but there was a queue. A huge queue, and they had only five minutes left.

"_Now_ what are we going to do?" Syaoran asked desperately, turning to Sakura as if he expected her to suddenly have the best idea of her life.

"How the HELL should I know?" Sakura yelled back.

"Well, how the hell should _I_ know?" he asked, his voice becoming louder to match Sakura's.

"It's YOUR fault we're so late. If you had managed to get your DAMNED ASS to the FRIGGING AIRPORT on TIME, we wouldn't be in this mess! I was ready to check in FORTY BLOODY MINUTES ago!" Sakura close-on shrieked.

"Whoa, Kinomoto, calm down…" Syaoran said as he raised his hands, palms turned outwards.

People were turning to look at the twosome and some were muttering. An attendant dressed in full uniform sidled up to the pair looking embarrassed.

"Excuse me, Sir, Madam, but you're making a scene…" he said nervously, his eyes darting around, throwing glances at everyone in the vicinity.

"Well, excuse me mister, but I think YOU'D be making a scene if _your_ PIECE OF CRAP col-" Sakura began, but Syaoran hastily shoved a hand over her mouth. She had been about to say 'piece of crap _colleague_', but that would certainly scupper his plans.

"Calm down, darling. I'm so sorry sir, she's pregnant, you see… Hormones, mood swings and the like…" Syaoran addressed first the struggling Sakura, then the attendant.

"Oh, you're pregnant? How lovely!" the attendant exclaimed, talking to Sakura. Sakura moved to shake her head violently, but Syaoran held it still.

"Yes, she's…" Syaoran began, then thought for a moment. What was a reasonable amount of time to suggest? "…four months along."

Thank God Kinomoto had worn a comfortable, baggy shirt to fly in.

"Oh, I see, my wife was at her most hormonal during her third and fourth months, so I completely understand. In fact, if you come with me, I'll check you in right now," he said with a knowing smile.

Syaoran tried not to grin like a maniac. What a great stroke of luck!

"Oh, thank you so much! I'm sure my…" Again he paused. He couldn't say that Sakura was his fiancée or wife, as she didn't have a ring.

"…girlfriend and I would both agree that that would be great! In fact, it's doubly special for us because we're eloping!" Syaoran exclaimed, getting more and more into his story as he let go of Sakura and they followed the attendant.

Sakura glared daggers at him after the 'eloping' part. It was bad enough that she was supposedly pregnant, without Li making matters worse!

"Eloping!" cried the attendant as they reached an unattended check-in desk, "How wonderful! My wife always said that she wishes _we_ had eloped. I suppose it _is_ quite romantic, the idea of running away together."

"Yes," Syaoran said, but his voice was suddenly different, as if he were seriously contemplating something. It was rather romantic all the same, the idea of two people secretly booking a flight to somewhere and knowing that all they want to do is be together. Running away together. He liked the sound of that.

But then that made him think about running away with Sakura, and he suddenly wanted to yell about beautiful mornings again…

The change in Syaoran's tone made Sakura turn to look at him, and he could have sworn that, for a moment, there was concern in her emerald eyes. But then the attendant finished checking them in, and, thanking him profusely, Sakura and Syaoran grabbed their carry-on luggage, leaving their main suitcases at the check-in and ran full tilt towards the boarding gate he had indicated.

The attendant watched them go with a smile on his face.

"Such a nice couple," he sighed.

…

"That was stupid, but I have to admit that it was some damn quick thinking!" Sakura panted as they turned left.

"Of course it was! They didn't make me Head of Advertising for nothing!" Syaoran replied.

Sakura checked her watch. They had two minutes…

"Up there!" Syaoran yelled suddenly, pointing towards a door guarded by another airport official. They skidded to a halt in front of the desk and one very surprised official.

"Wow, you two just about made it!" he exclaimed as Sakura and Syaoran handed over their tickets.

"Tell me about it! He thought we should take a shortcut! Some shortcut! Can you believe I'm eloping with him?" she complained to the official.

"Hey!" Syaoran objected. The official chuckled.

"You two make a cute couple," he said with a smile as he handed them back their documents.

With a look that suggested the two were trying to eat slugs, they said, "thanks." Because, of course, real couples would love to be told that, and they had to seem as authentic as possible.

They ran outside through the door and up the steps on to the plane before putting away their carry-ons and flopping down on to their seats. Sighing contentedly, they watched as an air hostess patiently explained where the exits were (for what was probably literally her hundredth time.)

"I think I know why they get hired to be hostesses," Sakura said lazily to Syaoran.

"Why?" Syaoran asked as he stretched.

"It's for their infallible enthusiasm and their Barbie-doll smiles," Sakura said, her eyes half-closed.

"Amen to that," Syaoran replied as he watched the woman look like an idiot as she demonstrated how to use the breathing masks in case of emergency. Somehow, she managed to smile showing all her teeth the whole way through. It was a pity that just made her look even more ridiculous.

"You know, I'm so tired and stressed I feel as though I've already been through a business convention!" Sakura laughed.

"Me too. Listen, I meant to say earlier, I'm sorry I made you cry outside the airport," Syaoran said quietly to the auburn-haired girl beside him. Her eyes were closed, and Syaoran strongly suspected she was falling asleep.

"Don't worry," she said with a smile, "I suspect it's just my pregnant-lady hormones."

…


	14. We Are Now Approaching Tokyo

_Extra-special Disclaimer:_ I don't own CCS. I also do not own two of the concepts in this chapter - the part where Syaoran draws on Sakura's face was borrowed from a 'Friends' episode, 'The One in Vegas'. Also, the part where Sakura spills water on Syaoran is borrowed from the same 'Friends' episode.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Fourteen_

_We Are Now Approaching Tokyo_

Li Syaoran was awake. And bored. Kinomoto Sakura was asleep, and probably not bored. Damn it.

Syaoran had nothing to do to pass the time. Well, that was a lie. He did have a fat black marker and a sleeping person. A blank canvas, if you will.

And so, because he was bored, and because, really, Kinomoto deserved it (he didn't know why. He just had a gut feeling she did. Besides, the woman was infuriating) he proceeded to fill in the blank canvas. It really was wonderful art. He just hoped Kinomoto would feel the same way when she saw what he had done.

Somehow, he doubted she would, but one can always hope.

Kinomoto Sakura awoke thirty minutes later when the plane was going though some turbulence. She turned and stretched, looking at Li beside her. She frowned in confusion when she saw that he appeared to be having difficulty withholding a laugh.

"What?" she asked, smiling a little at his expression.

"Nothing," he replied, trying to look casual.

"Nothing? Then why do you look like that?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Like what?"

"Like I'm the most hilarious thing you've ever seen," Sakura said, starting to get annoyed.

"I told you, it's nothing!" Syaoran exclaimed, "Besides, I thought you would have figured it out by now - you're just so beautiful that I can't stop staring." Syaoran's tone had turned to teasing and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Okay, now I know for certain that something's up. Is there something on my face? Is that it?" Sakura asked.

"You might say that," Syaoran said fairly.

Sakura immediately looked afraid and began frantically searching through her carry-on bag for her compact.

She snapped it open and saw her face reflected in it, but with a new black moustache and goatee. Then she turned to Syaoran with a murderous look in her eyes.

"I suppose you think this is funny?" she demanded, her voice throbbing with quiet fury.

Syaoran did, but he wouldn't dare admit it.

"I'm sorry, I know it was a childish thing to do, but I was bored, and the temptation was just too much!" Syaoran exclaimed with wide eyes, trying to look innocent.

"This had better be water-soluble ink, Li!" Sakura spat. Syaoran had a feeling that there was an 'or else' attached to the end of that sentence.

"I'm certain it is!" Syaoran exclaimed - he felt like he had been drowning but was just thrown a lifejacket. Upon further examination of the pen, however, he had nothing but bad news.

"It's not," he squeaked. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"What?" she asked, her voice calm and dangerous, as if she was going to pounce on him and throttle him any second.

Syaoran cleared his throat.

"It's, um, not water-soluble. It's, ah, permanent."

Sakura pursed her lips and took deep, regular breaths to keep herself calm. In through her nose, out through her mouth. In, out. Nose, mouth. One, two. One, two.

"Give me a good reason not to kill you," Sakura said, her eyes closed.

"I'm, really, really sorry," Syaoran said, sounding a mix of sincere and afraid.

"I said a good reason!" Sakura exclaimed.

"It'll wear off eventually," Syaoran attempted. When Sakura didn't reply, he gulped.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed, "you can draw on me!"

"I could draw on your corpse though, too," Sakura reasoned, her eyes still closed. Syaoran laughed nervously.

"But you did have the idea, and it's a good one, so I suppose I can spare your life," she opened her eyes and smiled. Syaoran handed her the marker. She grinned evilly and got to work - Syaoran sat absolutely still for the procedure - he knew he'd pushed his luck enough already.

When she finally declared herself finished, a few minutes later, she laughed, cried 'taa daa!' and showed him his reflection in her compact. Syaoran was far from amused.

"Don't you think you went a little overboard?"

He had a goatee and moustache identical to Sakura's, but she had also undertaken to provide him with thick eyebrows which made him look furious. He also had several scars with obvious stitches, like Frankenstein, and the occasional mole.

"Actually, I think it's a vast improvement," Sakura said, unable to suppress a smirk. Syaoran sighed.

"I guess it's the price I have to pay."

"Why did you do it, anyway?" Sakura asked, sounding genuinely wondering.

"Honestly, I don't know."

"You do a lot of things without knowing, don't you?" Sakura asked. Syaoran looked at her, an eyebrow raised significantly. Suddenly she realised she was referring to the 'kiss-during-the-powercut' incident, which was never to be mentioned again. Sakura fell silent rapidly.

"I'm going to the bathroom," she said quietly, undoing the belt that strapped her to the seat and getting up.

"What, do you have to announce it?" he asked in a light voice. Sakura could only manage a tired smile, and so Syaoran frowned at her back as she walked away.

'Is she okay?' he wondered. He was fully aware that it was odd for him to be curious about her health or happiness, but this seemed serious. 'Perhaps I'm just hard to put up with…'

….

Sakura stomped back from the bathroom a few minutes later, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"People wouldn't stop staring at me!" she explained in a wail as she practically collapsed back down into her seat. She took a drink from her glass of water then smiled wickedly, an idea having just struck her.

"Oops!" she gasped as she 'accidentally' spilled a good part of the water on Syaoran; more specifically in the region of the crotch of his pants. Syaoran just looked at her.

"What?" she asked, trying to play innocent.

"You did that on purpose," he stated, but he didn't seem angry.

"Course I did," she answered.

"I suppose I deserve it," he said.

"Yes."

"Humiliation seems to be the theme for this flight, doesn't it?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes, and it's about to get a whole lot worse," Sakura said while reaching up and pressing a switch above her head, and so immediately calling an air stewardess.

"Yes, Miss, I was wondering if you had a spare pair of pants," Sakura whispered to the woman as Syaoran blushed spectacularly, "my friend seems to have had a little accident. Must have been all that turbulence…"

….

"I don't think that was funny," Syaoran said a little while later.

"It's not like you were supposed to," Sakura replied with a shrug as she looked out of the window.

Syaoran couldn't find the necessary evil to even sulk, as he really couldn't be mad at her – he had, after all, started the whole thing. Plus, people probably really had been staring at her when she went to the bathroom – Syaoran wouldn't know, as he hadn't left his seat yet. Though, he had only just figured out that the air stewardess had been giving them both funny looks, not just the wet Syaoran.

They surely hadn't much farther to fly – the flight should only take around ninety minutes in total, and they had already sat through – he checked his watch – fifty of them.

Actually, that was less than he had originally thought.

Syaoran studied the marker carefully, reading every bit of the tiny white text on its shell. Then, he stumbled upon something that made him smile…

…

"You do realise that this is going to sting like hell," Sakura said to him as she dug through her carry-on bag, "and I also think you're a little crazy."

Syaoran shrugged.

"Has there ever been a time that you _didn't _think I was crazy?" he asked, and Sakura had to smile.

"No. I don't think this will work, though - it's a permanent marker, right?" Sakura asked, as she finally pulled a bottle of clear liquid from her bag.

"Well, it says on it 'do not use near nail varnish remover'. There must be a particular chemical in the remover that reacts with the ink or something… Besides, it was a cheap marker," he reasoned as Sakura poured a little of her nail varnish remover on to a handkerchief that Syaoran had handed her.

"Okay… Tell me if it really hurts, and I'll stop," Sakura said. Syaoran nodded, and she placed the cloth to his face and began to rub rather brutally.

(**A.N. Okay, this is important. Do NOT, under ANY circumstances, put nail varnish remover on your face. Also, do NOT draw on anyone's face with permanent marker. Those things give off fumes.**)

"It doesn't actually hurt," he said, "it's more a kind of cooling sensation."

Sakura looked grim.

"Yeah, it'll feel like that for a while, then it'll start to burn. I'll try and do this as quickly as possible, because I don't actually think that you should breathe in fumes from nail varnish remover," she said, starting to sound a little panicked.

Syaoran's skin was scarlet, but the pen was coming off easily. Almost too easily…

"Let's go to the bathroom," she said suddenly, hauling Syaoran from his seat and tugging him off to the direction of the bathroom, "your face is really red - we should splash it with cold water."

"Good idea," said Syaoran, whose eyes were watering severely.

…

Sakura and Syaoran staggered to the bathroom - the remover had begun to burn Syaoran's face. Once they had shut themselves in the place, trying desperately to ignore the mutterings from other passengers that they might be off to 'join the Mile High Club', Sakura took another handkerchief off Syaoran and soaked it in freezing water.

She pressed it anxiously to his face, a tiny crease appearing between her eyebrows as she frowned.

"You're so stupid!" she cried as she placed a hand on his face to steady it as her other hand worked furiously to cool him, "I _knew _I shouldn't have let you let me do this!"

She noticed that Syaoran's breathing was getting faster.

"Oh my God, now you can't breathe!" she cried.

"It must have been those fumes!" she continued.

"It's not that," Syaoran managed to choke out.

"Oh, thank God! I thought I'd killed you! What is it, then?" she asked.

Syaoran couldn't answer. What was he supposed to say? It's because your hand's on my face? It's because I can feel your breath across my cheeks? It's because you're worried about me?

"It's just…" he paused for a moment - his mouth had just got very dry, "I panicked, is all. Because it hurt. But I'm okay now. Thank you, Kinomoto."

Someday, all this lying was going to get him into trouble.

But he couldn't think about that when she smiled at him like only she could.

"Hey," she said softly, "all the marker's off."

She took her wet hand off his face and placed it on her own. Syaoran gaped at her when he saw the ink run off where her wet fingers touched her scribbled-on cheek…

"Kinomoto," he said, "look in the mirror."

She did as he said and gasped. She took the wet handkerchief and rubbed her face - the ink ran off. Syaoran grabbed the pen from his pocket and looked at it.

There was a sticker stuck to it, the barcode sticker, and he peeled it off. It had been hiding the prefix 'non', so that it _looked _as though the pen said 'permanent'.

Sakura looked furious.

"Li Syaoran, do you mean to tell me that I attacked you with nail varnish remover, practically burned your face off and scared myself shitless for NO REASON?" she screeched.

"Wait, Kinomoto, calm down…" Syaoran began, holding the palms of his hands out.

And everything was back to normal.

…

Syaoran had survived the bathroom incident, and the two were now sitting back in their seats.

Kinomoto was sitting flicking through a magazine that had been there when she sat down. Syaoran couldn't understand why she would be interested in it – it was a magazine for aspiring interior designers, as far as he could see. Wait, maybe she really wanted to be an interior designer, and the job as Deputy Head was just her day job while she finished interior design school or something!

Then maybe she would leave her job… It was odd, really, as that thought should fill him with joy, and yet it filled him with a sense of despair. He tried to imagine some stuffy old man taking over her job. He certainly wouldn't want to have long conversations on schizophrenic klutzes, or come to work singing 'Lady Marmalade', and all rumours of an affair would stop (as an affair between them would, at least on Syaoran's part, require a major lifestyle change).

Then he tried to imagine some hot girl taking over, but still he wasn't happy. She wouldn't be able to come up with witty retorts like Kinomoto could, she wouldn't be able to make him laugh, and she probably wouldn't look as good in a skirt as Kinomoto did, no matter how hot she was.

Even if he did eventually get his longed-for secretary, he knew that he still wouldn't be happy.

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks – if Kinomoto left her job, he would MISS her.

"Kinomoto why are you reading that magazine it's for interior designers but you're not one of those do you want to be and are you going to leave your current job to be one I hope not 'cos I'd miss you," Syaoran said all in one breath to the girl sitting next to him.

(A.N. Sorry if that bit was hard to understand due to lack of punctuation, I'll put a punctuated version here for anyone who was confused! 'Kinomoto, why are you reading that magazine? It's for interior designers, but you're not one of those. Do you want to be? Are you going to leave your current job to be one? I hope not, 'cos I'd miss you.')

Sakura gave him a bemused look.

"I didn't understand that, Li, I'm sorry. All I heard was 'interior designer' and 'miss you.'," Sakura said, looking confused.

Syaoran took a deep breath.

"I asked you why you were reading that magazine because it's for interior designers and you're not one. Then I asked if you wanted to be one and I was wondering if you were going to quit your current job to be one."

Sakura still looked confused.

"But you said something about missing someone or something."

Syaoran swore mentally. He had been hoping she wouldn't pick up on that!

Syaoran gritted his teeth.

"I said I hoped you weren't going to leave your job because if you did, I… I would… I would miss you," he gulped and his voice wavered on the last two words. He was looking at her, right into her eyes. She let out her breath on a shaky 'oh.'

"I'm sure you'd get over me if my replacement was hot enough," Sakura said with a smile.

"No, I wouldn't," Syaoran smiled a little smile of wonderment, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself, "you see, I… I… I think you're good at your job!"

He finished in a rush and resisted the urge to clap his hands over his mouth, but was powerless to stop the flush that was colouring his face.

Sakura's mouth formed an 'o' of surprise, but then it softened into a gentle smile and her eyes shone.

"I'm glad," she said softly.

Syaoran felt like he could burst for some reason.

"There's no reason to worry, though," Sakura continued, "I have no intention of becoming an interior designer – I just picked up the magazine because it was here, and it had some tips for decorating homes, which I thought might be useful for Tomoyo and my house."

Syaoran was mildly annoyed at the fact that Sakura hadn't told him this before he got all mushy, but he was still glad that Sakura was going to stay at her job. With him. Someday he was going to examine the reason why that made him so happy. Someday.

"Well, to coin a phrase, I'm glad!"

…

"Please fasten your seatbelts, we are preparing to land…"

Syaoran opened his eyes groggily at the loud voice. For a few moments, everything was fuzzy as his eyes adjusted, then he realised what was happening. He contemplated waking Sakura, but then decided he liked her better when she was asleep and there wasn't really any need to wake her, anyway.

He reached over and attempted to buckle her seatbelt himself. He was a few moments into the task when he realised that had been a bad idea. He blushed furiously as he felt down the side of her seat, his hands brushing her jeans-clad thighs. He had just been about to give up when Sakura opened her eyes and smiled sleepily. Then her eyes widened and she yelled,

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, PERVERT?"

Everyone on the plane turned to look at them, and Syaoran wished for nothing more than to sink right through the floor.

"Wait, Kinomoto, I can explain! It's not what it looks like…" Syaoran said quickly, his eyes wide as he realised just how the situation must have looked to Kinomoto.

"It had better not be what it looks like!" Sakura hissed angrily.

"You see, I –" Syaoran began, but an air steward had just come over.

"Are you okay, Miss?" he asked, shooting Syaoran a thoroughly suspicious look.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sakura said, much to Syaoran's amazement and relief, "I was just having a nightmare, that's all."

The air steward looked slightly unconvinced.

"Well, if you need any assistance…" he said.

"You'll be the first to know," Sakura said, shooting him one of her best smiles. Syaoran fumed.

The air steward nodded, still looking slightly doubtful. Sakura called a 'thank you!' after him as he went. He turned back to her and smiled before walking right the way back to the front.

"Now," said Sakura menacingly as she turned to Syaoran, "you have got some explaining to do."

"So have you!" said Syaoran immediately. Sakura looked confused and annoyed at the same time.

"I BEG your PARDON?" she half-screeched. Syaoran looked around wildly.

"Shut up, or you'll bring lover-boy back here!" Syaoran hissed. Immediately his eyes widened and, this time, his hands succeeded in clamping over his mouth. Oh. Crap. He hadn't meant to say that.

Sakura's forehead creased.

"You think I'm… You thought I was FLIRTING with him?" she asked, sounding incredulous. Then she seemed to realise something, for she smiled.

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

Her tone was teasing and Syaoran knew she expected him to roll his eyes and tell her to stop being ludicrous. But…

"Maybe I am."

Sakura looked as though she'd been shot. Her eyes widened so much Syaoran feared they'd fall right out of her eye sockets, and her breath was expelled with a quick, sharp noise.

Syaoran hadn't meant to say that either. Jesus, what was WRONG with him? It seemed like someone else was talking through his mouth today. Things he had never, ever wanted to say were tumbling out of his mouth. Then a little voice in his head said something unsettling.

'But you did think all those things, didn't you? Perhaps that's what it really is, perhaps you really ARE jealous, perhaps you're –'

Syaoran shut that little voice down as quickly as possible. That was all just so silly, and not true at all! Then he realised that nobody had spoken in quite a while, so he burst out laughing. As you do.

"You should have seen your expression!" he exclaimed, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter.

Sakura blinked, obviously surprised. Then she caught on.

"Was it convincing?" she asked suddenly.

"Was it CONVINCING? It was amazing!" Syaoran said, wiping a tear from one of his eyes.

"Yeah, you see, I was just playing along," Sakura said with a shrug. Syaoran forced himself to keep laughing. So she thought the idea of him being jealous of her was ridiculous? And how did she know that he wasn't being serious? He could have had his heart broken… If he was in love with her, that is.

"You should… You should join an amateur dramatics society," said Syaoran though the hiccups that accompanied all the fake laughing he had done.

"I'll think about it," said Sakura, but her voice was decidedly frosty.

She couldn't believe that they had been getting on so well less than an hour ago. Now Li was back to his old self, and they'd probably get on each other's nerves all convention.

…

"We are now approaching the runway at Narita Airport, Tokyo, where it's seven-thirty A.M. local time. Thank you for flying with Premier Airlines and we hope you will have a nice day."

The cool, feminine voice sounded again, marking the end of the flight. Sakura watched out of the window as the plane came in to land neatly on the runway. She hadn't been in Tokyo for the longest time – not since Chiharu and Yamazaki's wedding, which was about… Oh, three years ago now.

The sun was shining weakly and there was a bite of a crisp morning in the air as she and Syaoran exited the plane. On their way down the steps leading out of the aircraft, a Premier Airlines employee asked them politely if they'd had a nice flight.

Both of them muttered a sarcastic, 'yes, great,' through gritted teeth.

…


	15. My Future Wife Went To Acapulco

_Disclaimer: _CCS isn't mine. Arisa, however, is.

_This one's for Inconnu and Lilqtazn35_

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Fifteen_

_My Future Wife Went To Acapulco_

…**Recap of last chapter…**

**The sun was shining weakly and there was a bite of a crisp morning in the air as she and Syaoran exited the plane. On their way down the steps leading out of the aircraft, a Premier Airlines employee asked them politely if they'd had a nice flight.**

**Both of them muttered a sarcastic, 'yes, great,' through gritted teeth.**

…**End recap…**

Sakura and Syaoran trudged through the glass doors of Narita airport and followed the directions to the arrivals' lounge, where they figured they would find baggage pick-up.

"Now all we have to do is wait," Sakura said with a sigh as they stood at the baggage pick-up carousel.

"My bags always seem to come out last," Syaoran complained.

Just then, Sakura spotted her suitcase and reached out and, with Syaoran's help, managed to pull the heavy thing off the conveyor belt and on to the floor.

"Thanks," Sakura muttered, not looking at him.

"'S okay," Syaoran replied, also making a concerted effort not to look at his companion.

"How'd you know it was yours, anyway?" he asked, more to break the silence than anything else. Why did they have periods of such awkwardness?

"I attached ribbons to the handle, see?" she asked, pointing to the curling silver, gold, purple and pink metallic-effect ribbons she had tied to her suitcase. It certainly made it recognisable.

"Actually," Sakura began sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand, "that was Tomoyo-chan's idea."

Syaoran chuckled.

"Sounds like something Daidouji would do," he said.

Sakura opened her mouth to say that he hadn't even _met_ Tomoyo, much less actually _know_ her, but she decided against it. Besides, perhaps she talked about Tomoyo-chan so much that he really _did_ have a good idea of her personality.

"Anyway, is there anything distinguishing about your suitcase?" Sakura asked, watching the luggage go past on the conveyor belt.

"Well, I didn't attach ribbons to it or anything like that, but it has my initials in gold lettering on it and it has a key ring my cousin Meiling got me. It's got English on it – 'my future wife went to Acapulco and all I got was this lousy key ring'," Syaoran said, screwing up his eyes to remember.

Sakura blinked, surprised.

"My future _wife _went to Acapulco? I thought you said she was your cousin!"

Syaoran laughed.

"I never thought of you as one of those people who wouldn't be open minded. Nah, she was just messing around – for one thing, they didn't have 'my favourite cousin' or 'my friend'. Besides, everyone wanted Meiling and me to get married, but we've just never… Felt that way about each other. We're great friends, but we could never be anything more," he said in a thoughtful voice.

"Oh," said Sakura, for lack of anything better to say. Suddenly there was a teasing glint in Syaoran's eye.

"Are you glad? You thought Meiling was a real threat, didn't you? You were SO jealous!" Syaoran exclaimed, laughing when Sakura blushed and began hitting him playfully. Then she stopped, and that glint appeared in her eye.

She lowered her voice and roughened it to sound a bit more like Syaoran.

"Maybe I am," she said. Now it was Syaoran's turn to blush.

"Very funny," he said with a roll of his eyes. Then a sudden thought occurred to him.

"Besides, don't you mean '_maybe I am_'?" he asked, one of her wrists expertly caught in his hand as he spoke directly into her ear. His deep voice reverberated in her eardrum and she could feel his breath against the sensitive skin.

"Yes, quite!" she squeaked. "My voice just isn't deep enough."

The she spotted something.

"Your bag!" she cried suddenly, and Syaoran let go of her wrist before the two of them lunged at it. It was just about to go through the hole in the wall and do another circuit, but the combined forces of a frantic Sakura and Syaoran somehow managed to yank it off the conveyor belt before it escaped.

"We were lucky," Sakura gasped as she got her breath back, "it would have been about another ten minutes before it came around again." Syaoran nodded in agreement.

"We have to go through to the Arrivals' Lounge," he said finally when they had both recovered, "Ueda-san said that the company had arranged for a cab driver to meet us there. He'll probably be holding a sign saying 'Kinomoto-san' or 'Li-san' or 'Kinomoto-san and Li-san' or 'The Riverbrook Company employees' or 'The people that Ueda guy sent me to pick up' or…"

"Alright, alright! I get the idea!" Sakura interrupted before he could muse even further.

They wheeled their suitcases through the glass double doors and spotted who they were looking for immediately. A young girl, no more than eighteen or nineteen, was holding up a piece of card with 'Riverbrook employees' written on it. Clearly Riverbrook hadn't bothered to tell the cab company their names.

She was wearing glasses and had long black hair twisted up at the back of her head. She appeared to be looking around for them – perhaps Riverbrook had at least given a description of Sakura and Syaoran.

Sakura waved happily at the girl, calling 'hello!' The girl looked quite relieved to see them as she scuttled over to them.

"Hi!" she said, revealing a cheerful, bubbly voice, "I suppose you two are the, um, 'Riverbrook employees'." She finished sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand. Sakura laughed.

"I'm so glad I found you!" the girl exclaimed. "My uncle owns the cab company and he was supposed to collect you, but then he tripped over his cat, fell down the stairs and broke his leg-" Sakura looked shocked, especially as the young cab driver said it so casually, like it happened every day –"so I got sent, as I was the only one who could come at such short notice." She beamed.

"Now, I've talked long enough – my boyfriend says I always bombard people and they can never get a word in edgeways – tell me about yourselves."

"Well," Sakura began, "My name is Kinomoto Sakura, I'm… A bit older than you, let's say, and I'm here on a business trip with a guy I can't stand." Sakura smiled, as if she'd just said she was very happy.

"How about you?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm Honda Arisa, eighteen years old, and I'll be your cab driver," she said, smiling. Then she turned to Syaoran.

"I guess you're the hot silent type. What's your name, honey?"

Syaoran blinked, obviously caught off-guard.

"Um, Li Syaoran, same age as Kinomoto, twenty (Sakura butted in with a 'hey, I was trying not to reveal my age!' Syaoran rolled his eyes and replied that it wasn't like she was eighty or anything, besides, he just couldn't resist) and I'm hurt that Kinomoto said she couldn't stand me because she's my favourite person in the whole world," finished Syaoran, actually doing a credible impression of sincerity, even capping it off with a fake sniff.

Sakura snorted. Arisa winced suddenly, clapping a hand to her forehead.

"Oh, I've just realised, I was flirting again, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, kinda," Syaoran said with a shrug.

"Sorry, I do that. My boyfriend always says I'm too friendly. I hope it doesn't offend you," she said, her tone turning form apologetic to worried near the end.

Syaoran shook his head, seemingly amused.

"Of course not, a Pretty… Little… Thing… Like… You…" he said slowly and deliberately, looking over at Sakura. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, stop it, you. You sound like some perverted old man when you say that," Sakura said irritably. Syaoran looked offended.

"Hey! She's only two years younger than me!" he objected. Arisa was watching them, obviously amused.

"She's already got a boyfriend! And it's just… It's just gross! I would never let you anywhere near an innocent teenage girl, pervert!" Sakura cried, flinging her hands into the air around her for effect.

"Hey!" Syaoran began angrily, but Arisa interrupted.

"Nah, don't worry about it, Li-san. Kinomoto-san just wants you all for herself," said Arisa in a fake casual voice, her brown eyes carefully watching Sakura. Arisa giggled, satisfied, when Sakura exploded.

"Ugh! I assure you, Honda-san, that is most certainly not the case!" Sakura exclaimed, looking disgusted.

"And that goes double for me. Despite my joking earlier, I hat… - No, I mean, I strongly dislike – Kinomoto," Syaoran chipped in. His mother had told him, right from when he was a very small boy, never to say that he 'hated' someone, as 'hate' was such a strong word. After being reminded hundreds of times, he wasn't going to forget the message in a hurry. Even when it came to such a case as Kinomoto.

"Well, you know what they say: 'you always hurt the ones you love', and 'there's a very fine line between hate and love'," said Arisa with a shrug.

"Well, that might be the case for some people, but I personally believe I'll 'strongly dislike' Li for the rest of our working life together. In fact, if I ever fall in love with him, I'll sing 'The Wheels on the Bus' at my best friend's wedding," Sakura said.

"I'll hold you to that," vowed Syaoran, "I'll be your date to Daidouji-san and Hiiragizawa-san's wedding, and I will personally make sure you sing at it." Sakura snorted.

"If you manage to be my date to Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun's wedding, I will be more than happy to sing. You should, after all, celebrate miracles, shouldn't you?" asked Sakura, smirking.

"Er, I hate, I mean, I 'strongly dislike' to have to break up this little conversation, but we're at the cab," Arisa interrupted neatly. Sure enough, they had managed to walk straight through the airport to the other side, where there was a yellow cab parked on the sidewalk.

"Okay, everybody in!" Arisa chirped cheerfully as she opened the back door for them and Sakura got in. Syaoran helped Arisa manoeuvre the two suitcases into the cab's trunk, then he climbed in the back beside Sakura. Arisa opened the driver's door and climbed in herself.

"Okay," Arisa said, more to herself than anyone else, "everybody fasten their seatbelts, please. I'll be damned if there are gonna be any fatalities in this cab when I'm driving."

Sakura and Syaoran obeyed.

Arisa pulled out from the pavement, waving her thanks at someone who let her out.

Suddenly, as if it were perfectly normal, and not horribly dangerous, Arisa turned around and leaned through the gap between the two front seats and asked them if this was their first time in Tokyo. The car swerved violently to the left while she wasn't looking.

"Um, Honda-san, I think you should look back at the road!" Sakura exclaimed, panicking. Arisa gasped and turned back to her steering wheel just in time to stop them colliding with another car, which prompted enraged honks from other motorists, and a few even leaned out of their car windows to yell at her.

Arisa responded with a few honks of her own and some extremely colourful and inventive language.

"I only passed my driving a test a few weeks ago, if you can believe that!" Arisa chirped.

'Oh, I can believe it,' Sakura and Syaoran thought as Arisa actually ran a red light rather skilfully.

"That was red, by the way," Syaoran pointed out calmly as they sped down the street.

"Really?" Arisa asked, sounding surprised.

"Maybe I should wear my glasses when I drive… Oh well, I'm new to all this anyway," she said with a carefree shrug, as if that made it all okay.

Sakura and Syaoran shared a deeply meaningful look, which appeared to convey 'oh great, I'm never going to make it out of this cab alive, am I?'

"It shouldn't a be a long drive," Arisa said, eyes (thankfully) still focused on the road, now aided by thick glasses.

'Thank God,' Sakura and Syaoran thought. Tokyo appeared to be just waking up - birds were singing and there was dew on the grass.

Arisa turned left.

"It's the Kaibara Hotel you're staying in, right?" she asked. Sakura and Syaoran shrugged.

"Nobody told us where we were staying," Syaoran said.

"I think we go right here," Arisa said, almost to herself as she turned.

Syaoran fell silent as Sakura began to talk to Arisa about the convention she and Syaoran were attending. Arisa didn't seem to see the need to turn around to them this time, much to Sakura and Syaoran's relief.

After about ten minutes, Arisa cried triumphantly, "there!" and they stopped outside a nice looking hotel. Not overly fancy, but not horrible either.

Sakura and Syaoran went around to the trunk of the cab and pulled out their suitcases.

"If you need a cab any time while you're here," Arisa said as she pulled a card out of her pocket, "call this number, and just ask for me, okay?"

Sakura smiled and took the card from her.

"We will," she said as Arisa got back into the car.

"Bye!" Sakura and Syaoran called as Arisa drove away and waved frantically back at them as her yellow cab sped out of sight.

"What a character!" Syaoran exclaimed as he and Sakura pulled their cases towards the revolving front doors of the hotel. A few people passed them on the sidewalk, some jogging while listening to music, some in business suits yelling into cellphones.

"I know. Lovely girl, not so great cab driver," Sakura said as they went through the doors and up to reception.

"Hello," a plump, blonde receptionist addressed them as she looked up from her computer, "how may I help you?"

"Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran," Sakura said politely, "I believe we were booked in for two rooms here by Riverbrook Company?"

The receptionist typed something into her computer, then frowned.

"No, there's no recording of any booking," she said, looking confused.

"But our company said they booked us two rooms… There must be some mistake," Sakura said, looking confused herself. The receptionist looked suddenly enlightened.

"I think I know what might have happened," she said, frowning as she re-adjusted her glasses, "a trainee might have taken the booking… They're all useless, the lot of them. Let's see…"

She typed something else into the computer.

"Well, nothing's come up yet…" she said, then smacked a hand to her forehead, lifting a yellow post-it from her desk, which she appeared to have only just noticed.

"It says here," she said, reading from the small piece of paper, "'Charlotte, make booking for 'Riverbrook', two single rooms'. The trainee who took the call from your employers must have left it here. I'm Charlotte, you see. The trainees don't know how to make bookings… Oh no! I'm so sorry!"

Charlotte began to talk in a rush, her voice sounding slowly realising, then panicked, and her words tripped over themselves.

Sakura and Syaoran blinked.

"Do you have any other vacant rooms?" Sakura asked, ever the sensible and business-like one. It was, Syaoran thought fondly, what made her such a great deputy head of department.

Charlotte appeared to be unable to speak right at that moment, as she silently typed something into her computer. Then she attempted a weak smile, though she was about to deliver some bad news.

"Just the one room. It's the deluxe honeymoon suite."

…


	16. Maybe Not Such A Good Idea

_Disclaimer:_ CCS is not mine. Charlotte, the hotel receptionist is, as are any other original characters in this fic.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Sixteen_

_Maybe Not Such A Good Idea_

"I'm sorry, what?" Sakura said, leaning intently towards Charlotte the receptionist, as if she genuinely hadn't heard the blonde woman's words. Syaoran had heard well enough though, and now he was trying to stop his mouth from hanging open in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Miss… What was it? Kiminoto? I just said that, unfortunately, all we have left is the Deluxe Honeymoon Suite. We'll let you have it half-price, of course, to make up for our blunder," Charlotte said.

"Can I just talk this over with my associate?" Sakura asked Charlotte politely, still managing to keep her head in the midst of a crisis.

"Certainly," Charlotte said graciously, "take as long as you need."

Sakura smiled, but it was decidedly frosty, and grabbed Syaoran by the arm, steering him away from the main desk to a point about thirty feet away. Charlotte had returned to typing while she waited for them to reach a decision.

"Well," Sakura hissed, "what do you think we should do?"

"I think we should take it," Syaoran said simply, a surprising amount of confidence and firmness about his tone.

"What? Are you crazy?" Sakura cried.

"Look," she began again after she had taken a few calming breaths, "there's no point in taking the room. The half-price offer is no use because Riverbrook is footing the bill anyway. I say we call up Honda-san and find another hotel."

"Look, Kinomoto, I don't know what's wrong with your watch, but mine says it's eight-fifteen A.M. We don't have _time _to call Honda-san up and find another hotel - there's no telling how long that'll take. We could end up going miles, and Ueda thinks we're staying here - what if they try to contact us here and the hotel tells them we didn't even check-in here? They'll panic and do something stupid like send out a search party.

Besides, we have to be at the convention by nine-thirty A.M. We need to check in right now, go upstairs, unpack enough to get us through today and have a shower. I'm sorry Kinomoto, but we just don't have an alternative. Maybe we can stay the one night here and try to find a different hotel tomorrow," Syaoran reasoned.

Sakura had to admit that what he said made sense, even if she didn't particularly like it. She sighed heavily and looked reluctantly into Syaoran's amber eyes.

"I suppose," she said, sounding weary. Syaoran grinned, said he knew she'd see it his way and walked back up to Charlotte at the reception desk.

"We'll take it," he said.

…

"Oh… My… God…" Sakura said when she and Syaoran unlocked the door to their room. For a start, the key handle was in the shape of a heart, which fitted into a heart-shaped lock. Sakura was feeling nauseous already.

Then, when Syaoran unlocked the door and they stepped in, she couldn't believe it. The room was utterly _gorgeous _- at least, it would have been if she had been here with a boyfriend or something.

White voile curtains floated at the patio doors which opened out on to a balcony overlooking the hotel's inner courtyard, where there was a fountain. The bed was an enormous king-size four-poster, with white canopies hanging from it. The bedclothes were purple and white, with purple and white fluffy pillows piled at the head of it.

Someone, presumably a maid, had scattered the bed with rose petals.

The whole room was done in a colour scheme of purple and white, and was fabulously light and airy, with purple and white candles dotted here and there. Sakura sniffed a few of them, and was delighted to find that the white ones smelt of vanilla, while the purple smelled of lavender.

There was a T.V. sitting on a white cabinet near the bed, and the floor was polished and wooden, with no carpet.

The bathroom, which Sakura hurried to examine, was tiled in purple and white with a white bath, shower, toilet and handbasin, all the basics.

"Wow," Sakura breathed finally as she came back to where Syaoran was standing with all their bags around him on the floor.

"I know," Syaoran said, then they looked at each other and began to laugh.

"All this for us," Syaoran said, shaking his head.

Then he said apologetically, "I'm sorry you're here with me and not a boyfriend."

"I'm sorry about that too," she said, a teasing grin flitting around her mouth.

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"I honestly don't mind," she then said, and the sincerity in her voice took Syaoran aback for a few seconds. He smiled.

"Good. Because I don't really mind, either," he said, and he was sincere too.

"Let's unpack," Sakura said, and Syaoran groaned.

"Do we have to?"

…

Syaoran was sitting on the bed about thirty minutes later, waiting for Sakura to come out of the shower so he could go in. Things had been going okay so far.

Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened and Sakura emerged, wrapped in a fluffy white towel, her wet hair loose around her face. Syaoran couldn't help but look at the creamy white shoulders exposed by the towel and then, at her shapely legs...

Damn it. He hoped he wasn't staring, but he had a horrible feeling he was.

Sakura felt that there was something vaguely unsettling about coming out from the bathroom to see Syaoran sitting on the bed, almost as if he were… Waiting for her… Her heart skipped a beat when he looked at her, amber eyes boring into her with a slightly hungry gleam in them. And she couldn't breathe.

Nobody moved.

"Well, I'm out now!" Sakura cried chirpily, feeling a compelling need to break the silence. Syaoran jumped as if snapped out of a trance.

"Oh, so you are! Guess I'll be, um, going in now," Syaoran said hurriedly, getting up off the bed and going in, not able to close the door fast enough.

Both of them breathed a gasp of relief, then Syaoran slumped against the door and buried his head in his hands. Sakura lay back on the bed and groaned.

How could they have _ever _thought that this was a good idea?

…

Sakura was dressed and blow-drying her hair when she heard Syaoran calling her from the bathroom. She turned off her hairdryer and hollered through the door,

"what is it?"

"I need some clean underwear," he said, his voice shaking a little, "can you throw some in to me?"

Sakura blushed at the thought of handling his underwear.

"You need more than underwear," she called, "you need a full set of clothes - I'm not having you walk around in your underwear."

Syaoran managed a nervous laugh.

"Oh, yeah," he said, "silly me. Okay, throw me a suitably boring suit."

Sakura searched through the things that had come out of Syaoran's suitcase, finally deciding on a pair of ordinary black boxers (picking out Syaoran's underwear for him was _beyond _weird, she decided) and a navy suit, but she didn't know what shirt and tie to put with it.

Then, suddenly, she heard a voice behind her. Right behind her. She jumped and whirled around.

And there was Syaoran, his hair dripping; tall, broad-shouldered, muscular frame clothed in only a towel wrapped around his waist. She had a horrible feeling she was staring. She prayed her mouth wasn't open, and that she wasn't drooling.

He was looking at her with an eyebrow raised.

"You were taking a long time, so I thought I'd come see if you were okay. I thought maybe you'd forgotten," he said, and Sakura was sure he was blushing a little.

_Say something, anything! _Sakura prompted herself desperately.

"Ghurk," she said intelligently. Syaoran looked confused, and a little panicked. Sakura resisted the urge to bang her head off something.

"I meant 'shirt'," she explained as she shook her head vigorously, "I couldn't decide on a shirt and tie to go with this suit. That's what took me so long."

_Well done, Sakura! _She thought sarcastically, _you've learned how to act like a regular human being! Maybe someday you'll realise you're not a teenager anymore, and therefore cannot stare like an idiot at extremely hot, wet, towel-clad guys!_

"Hot?" she said to herself, sounding bewildered. _Where had _that _come from?_

"I beg your pardon?" Syaoran asked.

"I said, 'isn't it awfully hot in here?'" Sakura tried to cover up, tugging at the collar of her blouse.

"Not really," Syaoran said.

"Must be just me then," Sakura muttered as Syaoran selected an ordinary white shirt and navy tie (which, Sakura reflected, made perfect sense, and made her wonder why she hadn't thought of it) and went back to the bathroom to dress.

…

It was approximately thirty minutes later that the two were standing in the reception area of the hotel, immaculately dressed (although Syaoran absolutely could _not _convince his hair to behave, despite the combined efforts of both himself and Sakura, who was believed to an expert when it came to hair. Sakura had told him that it looked good anyway, and it broke up the stuffiness of his ultra-boring suit. It helped him look more like a twenty-year-old and less like a thirty-year-old.

Besides, the rumpled look was 'in' this season, according to Sakura, and she read all those fashion magazines, so she would know. Syaoran couldn't decide if she was just being nice today, or if she was just trying to convince herself that it didn't matter that she couldn't fix it.)

Anyway, they were in the reception area of the hotel and Sakura was searching through her purse for the little card with the number that Honda-san had given them. Meanwhile, Syaoran was assuring Charlotte that their room was lovely, and everything was to their liking. Well, within reason - two beds would have been more to their liking, but it was a fine room, it was just a pity that he and Sakura weren't the sort who should really be staying in it.

Sakura was now having a conversation with Honda-san, as far as Syaoran could tell. Sakura was yelling down the phone for a reason Syaoran couldn't discern - perhaps Honda-san's uncle, the one who had fallen over his cat, had answered the phone, and the fall had affected his hearing. Or something.

"Yeah, I'd like a CAB. C-A-B. With Honda Arisa driving, preferably," Sakura said, speaking very slowly and loudly. There was a pause, and Sakura seemed to be biting back a frustrated growl when she spoke again.

"HONDA ARISA! I want a CAB DRIVEN BY **HONDA ARISA**!" Sakura near-screamed. There was another pause. Presumably whoever was on the other end of the line was slightly frightened by Sakura.

Then Sakura sighed, in what Syaoran was fairly certain was relief, and she said, "thank God it's you, Honda-san. A little dose of sanity. Who the hell _was_ that?"

All went quiet once more and Sakura blushed deeply.

"Oh, your boyfriend, I see… Sorry about that," she apologised, sounding genuinely and deeply sorry. Syaoran could have sworn that he heard something along the lines of 'nah, don't worry, he's an asshole sometimes. It was his own fault for having that music so loud.'

Syaoran shook his head. That Honda Arisa - what a character.

…

It seemed that Sakura had finally been able to get her request across, for Arisa arrived in the same yellow cab from earlier at the Kaibara Hotel around fifteen minutes later.

Sakura and Syaoran waved to her, and Syaoran climbed into the back while Sakura climbed into the passenger side beside Arisa. Sakura and Syaoran had had a fight while they were waiting about who would sit with Arisa and give her directions to the convention.

Eventually, because Sakura presented such a good argument (she had the address, and Syaoran didn't), she won (it had nothing to do with the fact that she was still in her scary 'don't-you-dare-mess-with-me' mode, and Syaoran was slightly frightened).

Anyway, Sakura was busy narrating from the list of directions that Ueda had given her, and Arisa actually drove quite well, considering it was Arisa. Of course, she managed to turn left even though Sakura insisted over and over that they would have to go RIGHT at the next junction, and she thought it appropriate to rectify this mistake by doing a thoroughly scary (and, now that Syaoran thought about it, probably illegal) U-turn.

"Not far now!" Sakura chirped, managing to sound cheerful even though Syaoran could see she was looking a little green after the swooping U-turn.

"Why couldn't your boyfriend hear Kinomoto on the phone this morning?" Syaoran asked suddenly.

Arisa didn't speak for a moment as she had to negotiate a particularly tricky situation involving not running over and killing a dog that had darted across the road. Sakura was holding her hands over her eyes and shrieking, "oh my God, no! Honda-san, please don't hit it!"

To which Arisa replied, grunting, "I'm trying!"

When they had safely passed the dog (which escaped from the ordeal without a scratch) Arisa answered Syaoran's question.

"He plays in a band, who play WAY too loud, and he was a gig last night, so his ears were probably still ringing. But when Kinomoto-san called this morning, he was also blasting Nirvana as loud as he could. That didn't wake me up because I'm used to it, but poor Kinomoto-san had to compete with Kurt Cobain hollering 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' at about one hundred decibels," Arisa explained.

"That," Syaoran said, who wasn't surprised that Arisa's boyfriend was a little strange, "would explain it."

…

At nine twenty A.M., Sakura and Syaoran had been deposited outside the rather formidable-looking Kaibara Conference Center, which was an impressive building with lots of glass, and looked suitably shiny and modern.

Arisa was telling them to have a great day at the convention as Sakura handed her their cab fare. Arisa told them to ring her to be picked up, and she drove off.

"You know," Sakura said thoughtfully, "we're really lucky we met her."

Syaoran nodded, then looked at the building in front of them and gulped audibly.

"Ready to be bored out of our minds?" Syaoran asked her. Sakura nodded and they walked through the doors, feeling a little nervous.

…


	17. Syaoran The Amazing Uncontrollable Flirt

_Disclaimer: _I do not own CCS. I do own Arisa, Charlotte, Ueda and any other original characters that pop up in this fic.

This chapter contains, among other things, the first day of the convention, abject boredom and a demonstration of the chapter title.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Seventeen_

_Syaoran The Amazing Uncontrollable Flirt_

Sakura and Syaoran marched into the building, looking a million times more confident than they felt. A woman was seated at a desk in the reception hall, surveying them snootily over black-rimmed glasses. She looked quite like Charlotte, except Charlotte was friendly and well-meaning, and this woman looked neither.

"May I help you?" the woman asked in a voice, which was, of course, extremely posh. And it also sounded extremely fake.

'_How on earth can she be bothered to keep it up?' _Sakura wondered, as she strapped on her most charming, business-like smile. She wondered why this woman was scowling at them as if they were something nasty she had found on the bottom of her shoe (no doubt a Prada creation, or something similarly expensive).

It wasn't if they had done anything offensive, and they were dressed impeccably - it wasn't as if they were tramps clothed in rags. Sakura had opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it, surprised, when Syaoran beat her to the desk and began smiling at the receptionist.

"Hello, Mademoiselle," Syaoran said in a flirty manner as he leaned on the desk, and Sakura blinked. The woman was smiling and extremely flushed now. Then Sakura realised that the receptionist had been glaring only at Sakura, presumably because Sakura was with Syaoran.

Sakura withheld a giggle. The woman obviously liked the look of Syaoran. It was rather intelligent of him to indulge her - clearly the guy had more brains than she, Sakura, gave him credit for.

"It's 'Madam', actually," she said, but she was still smiling and flushed, seemingly not the least bit offended. Syaoran did a credible imitation of surprise.

"Really?" he asked, blinking, "But aren't you a little young to be married? You don't look a day over sixteen!"

The receptionist actually _giggled _at this point. Sakura resisted the urge to vomit, but the other woman seemed to be lapping it up.

"Oh dear!" Syaoran exclaimed as he checked his watch, "I fear we may be late for our convention so, unfortunately, I can no longer stand and chat."

The woman looked disappointed.

"I don't suppose you could tell me and my -" Syaoran began.

"Girlfriend," Sakura interrupted, smiling in a manner that said clearly 'back off, Blondie' as she stepped to become level with Syaoran.

Syaoran looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist, causing her eyes to widen. She managed to stop herself sending him a bewildered look, as she knew how suspicious that would appear.

"Girlfriend," he continued without missing a beat, and Sakura was impressed, "where the annual East Japan Advertising Convention is taking place?"

The woman looked furious, then spat, "Conference Room D. Go to the fourth floor, and when you step out of the elevator, take the first corridor to your right. You will eventually see a sign for 'Conference Room D'."

Syaoran smiled at her, and, with his arm still tightly wound around Sakura, they walked towards the elevator. Sakura could feel Receptionist-Woman's eyes on her the whole way.

"You know," Sakura said after they were inside, "you can let go of me now."

"I know," he said, smiling slightly although not looking at her, but pulling her even closer to him. Sakura would have choked on her own saliva, had it not been such an unladylike and inappropriate action for the moment.

"After all, if I have you this close, then you need never be jealous of married receptionists," he said slyly, finally looking at her, an eyebrow arched. Sakura looked furious, and made to wriggle away from him, but he only held onto her more tightly.

"No," he said, "you're not getting away. You're so little, you fit well. Besides, you like it, I can tell."

Sakura now looked double furious.

"I do not!" she cried, even though she did. A little. Not because it was Syaoran, but just because it was comfortable, and warm, and she hadn't been held by a man in a long time…

"And I was not jealous!" she continued, "I just didn't think it would reflect well on the company if you began an affair with a married woman while on a business trip!"

"You know I was only playing around with her," Syaoran said teasingly as Sakura looked away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Yes, well I didn't think that was fair either!" Sakura exclaimed, turning sharply to look accusingly at him.

"She was genuinely interested in you!" she said, making it sound as though it was his fault. He blinked, surprised.

"Well, I wasn't doing anything wrong, I mean, it wasn't as if I was going to try to seduce her, or anything. And if she had responded any more seriously than she did, then I would have backed off. You know I would. But she was just messing with me, too," he reasoned, looking a little hurt that Sakura would think he would go after a married woman.

"I just figured, since she was glaring at you, that I would handle getting the information from her. Besides, she should see that you are the only woman I need," he said, actually looking down quite _fondly_ at her.

"But you're always flirting! With me, that receptionist, with Honda-san… Even Charlotte a little this morning while I was on the phone to Honda-san! You take it so lightly, and you don't mean it!" she cried.

"Not," she added quickly when she correctly interpreted the look Syaoran was shooting her, "that I wish you were being serious when you flirt with me, or anything."

_Except that I do, a little, but I don't know why, _Sakura thought suddenly, then immediately wondered where the thought had come from.

"You see," Syaoran said, smiling slightly, "having to deal with one slightly insane woman, is _more _than enough. I should never need another woman, if I have you."

Sakura sighed, exhausted.

"You," she began, pausing dramatically, "are _impossible_."

Syaoran grinned infuriatingly.

"Thank you."

…

Sakura willed her head not to fall off her hand and crash onto the (rather nice) conference table she was sitting at. When she and Syaoran had got off the elevator (rather amazingly, they both had all limbs intact) and found Conference Room D, they had been handed a timetable by a rather portly and bored-looking woman.

On it, underneath their names, was a list of everything they would be required at over the next two days. Sakura quickly discovered that Ueda had lied - this wasn't so much a convention as two days of abject boredom and seemingly never-ending meetings and discussions.

When the duo had not been required at any meeting, they had sat in the Conference Centre's café, drinking endless cups of a vile liquid that the café staff claimed was coffee. In Sakura's case, she was drinking them in a desperate attempt to try and stay awake. Syaoran had seemed to drink it simply to keep her company, but he was now peppier than she had ever seen him.

Unfortunately, no amount of coffee could remedy the sleep-inducing properties of dull discussions in Sakura's opinion. Oh well, it was worth a try.

As far as Sakura could grasp, the 'convention' was made up of advertising executives from all over Japan. The Advertising Board of Japan was laying down some new rules and regulations, and there were lots of people discussing them. The Head of the Advertising Board, Mokoto Takei, was here, along with many people from the Board.

The purpose of these two days was to make sure all the advertisers in Japan were happy with the new regulations. There were 'conventions' being held all over the country, it just happened that Sakura and Syaoran were at the Tokyo one.

Really, Sakura felt sorry for Takei-san. He had to attend fifty of these things.

Sakura glanced over at Syaoran who was arguing, rather passionately (of course, that may have just been all that coffee) about something.

_How can he summon the strength to care so much about something so dull? _Sakura wondered as she watched him, his amber eyes ablaze as he objected.

Sakura herself was idly pondering on how Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun were doing at home, and how Sonomi-san had taken the news that the two were going to organise their _own _wedding.

She glanced at her watch quickly, in such a way that (hopefully) nobody noticed. It was nine P.M., and Syaoran and herself had been here almost twelve _hours._ This was ridiculous.

Suddenly Takei-san stood up, and Sakura blinked and jolted suddenly out of her stupor when the middle-aged man began to speak.

"Okay," he said," enough for today. You can all come back tomorrow."

And he left, just like that, apparently not caring about the angry muttering that was going on among the people he had left behind. Sakura supposed that that was the ultimate sign of power - being so central to something important and being able to do whatever you wanted without anyone saying a word.

Sakura looked over at Syaoran. He was rubbing his forehead with his eyes closed. He looked awfully flushed, and Sakura began to wonder if he was okay. However, he then stopped to look up at her and smile, and the moment passed.

…

They were standing on the street outside the conference centre and Sakura had just phoned Arisa to have her come and pick them up. The night was dark, but not gloomy - it was much more piercing than that. Gloom was heavy and suffocating, but this night was sharp and cold, the wind biting at any exposed skin and leaking through their clothes to chill them to the bone.

Sakura shivered and stamped her feet, blowing on her hands which were numb with cold. Syaoran had been silent the past few minutes, but he smiled when he saw her do that.

"That's not how to warm up your hands," he chided softly, and he took her hands in his own. Sakura blushed, and felt warmer instantly, but although a rush of blood was warming, Sakura was fairly certain that wasn't what he meant.

She marvelled at how big his hands were, at least, they were big in comparison to her own. They quite easily covered hers and were extraordinarily warm. He rubbed his together gently against her own, and she had to admit that his way of warming hands was much more effective.

But then, it stuck her that Syaoran's hands were almost _too _warm. She fixed him with a suspicious look.

"Why are your hands so warm? You _are_ okay, aren't you?" she asked.

Syaoran was saved from answering as Arisa chose that moment to pull up and honk loudly as she hung out the window and grinned.

"Ooh," she remarked, a wicked grin sneaking across her face (it was, Sakura mused, one of the things she and Syaoran had in common - the ability to pull off a magnificent teasing grin), "you two looked pretty cosy over there. Maybe I should have left you alone a little longer."

Syaoran said, sighing, "ha ha ha, Honda-san. It's funny, I thought we paid you to _drive_."

He opened the door for Sakura without thinking, earning himself a shocked look from Sakura (which he did notice) while Arisa's grin widened by a couple of teeth (which he didn't notice).

"Rather badly," he continued thoughtfully as he climbed in himself and sat on the passenger seat. Arisa glared at him and Syaoran looked back at her with exaggerated innocence, his expression clearly asking 'what?'

They looked so funny that Sakura had to laugh.

"You see, Honda-san, this is what I have to put up with every day!" she said as Honda-san pulled away from the kerb.

"Poor baby," Arisa said sympathetically.

…

"Do you want me to take you back to your hotel, or somewhere else?" Arisa asked as she glanced at her rear-view mirror.

"We could go out for dinner," Syaoran suggested, turning around in his seat to face Sakura.

"We could," Sakura mused, sounding unconvinced, "but not dressed like this! And I really don't want to go back to the hotel and get dressed for dinner - I'm too hungry to wait."

"Then we'll go somewhere not nice," Syaoran suggested, "like McDonalds, or something."

"That," Sakura said with a tired smile," is probably the _best_ idea I've heard all day."

"You could come too," Syaoran said to Arisa - he had forgiven her for earlier. But she shook her head.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she said, "most people have actually already eaten dinner by nine-thirty P.M."

_Besides, _she thought to herself, _there's no way I'd get in the way of you two eating dinner alone together, even if it _is _only McDonalds._

Actually, even though she didn't say that out loud, Sakura and Syaoran's expressions told her that they knew that was what she was thinking. Arisa smiled sheepishly.

"So, the nearest McDonalds, then?" she asked.

…


	18. Something of Hers

_Disclaimer_: CCS isn't mine. I'm just playing with its characters.

_Special Thanks to:_ All the lovely reviewers - 850 ALREADY! I really can't believe it. Thank you all so much. I don't deserve it. Especially special thanks to Lilqtazn, for always reviewing both 'Butterflies' and 'Glass Roses', and Lily, because… Well… She's Lily : -)

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Eighteen_

_Something of Hers_

"Wow! Look at all the people queued up outside that tacky-looking little wedding chapel!" Sakura exclaimed as they drove past a small, white, wedding chapel with an incredible number of couples in a line outside it.

"The crowds are there because, exactly thirty years ago tonight, a very famous actress got married there. She and her boyfriend wanted to go somewhere the paparazzi wouldn't find them, so they chose that wedding chapel because it's the _last _place you would expect a famous person to get married.

Now, thirty years on, they're still together, which is quite amazing for a showbiz couple. So, the chapel says that if you marry there, you'll stay together forever, and the person you marry is _definitely _your true love," Arisa explained as Sakura pressed her face to the car window in order to get a closer look.

"Of course," Arisa said, waving a hand carelessly, "I don't believe in junk like that."

Syaoran smiled knowingly.

"I bet you do, Honda-san. I bet you've been bugging your boyfriend to get married to you there," he said. Arisa blushed but said nothing.

"I think it's amazing…" Sakura breathed.

"It's just a publicity stunt," said Arisa once her face had calmed down, "a line like "get married at the 'Fairytale Wedding Chapel' and stay together forever, just like Wakimiya Mayura" is absolute _gold_."

"Don't you believe in things like that?" Syaoran asked Arisa, sounding shocked.

"Why, do you?" Arisa asked skeptically. He gave a small smile while a far-away look filled his amber eyes. The wedding chapel was reflected in the deep amber.

"Yes," he said softly, "I think I do. I think that if I got married to someone there, we'd stay together forever. I believe in little superstitions like that. I believe in fortune-telling, fate and destiny, so why not something like that?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to smile.

"Yes," she said softly, mirroring Syaoran's tone without even realising it, and a far-away look came into her eyes as well, "I believe it, too. And I wish all those couples the best of luck."

…

"I'll come back and pick you up if you give me a call," Arisa said as she dropped Sakura and Syaoran off at the McDonalds' restaurant closest to them.

"Thank you so much. You have no idea how grateful we are for all you do for us," Sakura said as she closed the car door. Arisa waved her hand.

"Oh, that's no problem. You're nice people," she said, and drove away.

…

"Now, what shall it be, Miss Kinomoto?" Syaoran asked in a teasingly posh voice as they joined the small queue at the counter, "perhaps a chicken burger, or a cheeseburger?"

Sakura smiled.

"A salad, actually," she said. Syaoran made a face.

"A salad? Oh well, it's your choice. I don't know anyone who goes to McDonald's to eat a salad, but then again, you are odd, aren't you?"

Sakura smiled sweetly and stepped on his toe.

"_What _was that, Li dearest?"

"Nothing!" Li choked out as she ground her heel into his foot.

…

A few minutes later Sakura and Syaoran were seated at a (admittedly not very clean) table. Syaoran had ordered an enormous burger, and Sakura had looked at him sternly for it.

"What?" he had said,

"I'm a big guy!"

Sakura had to admit that he most certainly was, at well over six feet tall. She always felt so short when she stood next to him.

Now Syaoran was happily eating his burger while Sakura was just as happily eating her salad, although she stole a fry when he wasn't looking, just to have a little taste.

"We certainly do look a little out of place here, don't we?" Sakura asked as she looked around.

The place was painted in bright colours, which somehow looked cheap under the bright lighting. A lot of the tables weren't very clean, as most of the staff were teenagers who seemed either to be fighting sleep or else more interested in standing around and talking.

There was a group of giggling teenage girls at a table in the corner, all dressed up and caked in make-up. Sakura supposed they were going to, or had just left, a party.

At another table, there was another girl, maybe Sakura and Syaoran's age. She seemed to be a student, as she was trying to read Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' while eating some fries. She wasn't doing too well, as she kept missing her mouth with her food.

Then, the last occupant of the restaurant was a man who looked very tired - Sakura thought he probably worked nights, and this was his dinner.

Sakura and Syaoran, in their smart work clothes, certainly did look out of place.

Syaoran, in answer to her question, sneezed loudly. Sakura blinked at him as he dug in his pocket for a tissue and hurriedly blew his nose.

"Bless you," Sakura said, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

Syaoran nodded firmly and smiled.

"How about we have McFlurries now?" Syaoran asked, and Sakura was surprised to note that they had both finished eating without her realising it.

"Oh no, I couldn't," Sakura said, shaking her head. Syaoran laughed.

"You look so scared at the idea of eating one! Haven't you ever tasted them?" he asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Definitely not. I don't even want to _know _what's in them. And don't get me started on what the calorie count must be…" she said until Syaoran cut her off.

"Kinomoto dear, you have to learn to live a little," he said, and marched up to the counter before Sakura could stop him.

"Wait!" she called, but he didn't even turn around. Sighing, she slumped down in her seat and resigned herself to her fate - being force-fed ice-cream.

…

Syaoran returned a few minutes later holding only one McFlurry… And two spoons. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that if I brought two over, you'd have a heart attack. So we can share one," he said as he sat down and pulled the plastic lid off the ice-cream.

Sakura looked a little wary.

"Oh, come on, Kinomoto! A half of one just this once isn't going to kill you!" he said as he handed her a spoon.

That wasn't what she was wary about. It was just that, now they were sharing ice-cream, it felt like a… A… Date.

Syaoran dipped his spoon in and put a mouthful into his mouth. He grimaced for a moment.

"Cold," he muttered by way of explanation. Then he swallowed.

"Now you," he said encouragingly to Sakura, as if she were a three-year-old. Sakura hesitated, her spoon poised over the container as she bit her lip.

"Now, Kinomoto," he said sternly, "you put some of that into your mouth or I will do it for you."

Sakura spluttered.

"You mean _feed me_?" she asked.

"Yes," Syaoran said, sounding completely serious, "in front of all these people, I will force-feed you ice-cream. Now there's something I never thought I'd have to do - force-feed someone ice-cream."

He looked amazed.

"Just shows that you really are strange," he said slyly. Sakura coloured immediately.

"I am not strange!" she exclaimed, and to prove her point, she crammed a large spoonful of ice-cream into her mouth. She made the same face as Syaoran had before.

"Cold?" Syaoran asked. She nodded, then swallowed. And promptly ate another spoonful.

"Is it nice?" Syaoran asked wickedly. Sakura blushed.

"Maybe a little," she admitted.

…

They were on their third shared McFlurry twenty minutes later.

"It's just cold liquid sugar," Sakura said as she spooned some into her mouth.

"Then why are you eating it?" Syaoran asked, grinning, as he ate another spoonful.

"It turns out cold liquid sugar tastes rather nice," she said.

Syaoran sneezed again. Sakura wasn't convinced that he was okay at all, but decided not to press the matter.

A little while later, when the third ice-cream was almost finished, Syaoran looked at Sakura and she giggled. Syaoran smiled automatically.

"What?" he asked.

"Do this," she instructed, and licked her lips. Syaoran stared at her and didn't move a muscle as he watched her moist pink tongue slide over her lips. When he didn't move, Sakura coughed.

"Li, lick your lips. They're all white," she said, and Syaoran jumped.

_'Why don't you come over and lick them for me?'_

Syaoran blinked and tried very hard not to blush. Why did the voice in his head always say stupid and/or perverted things?

"Li, your lips," Sakura prompted again. Still Syaoran didn't move. He looked dazed, and again Sakura had to wonder if he was feeling okay.

She sighed and leaned across the table, paper tissue in hand, and wiped his mouth for him. Syaoran stared up at her, stunned at what she was doing. She concentrated hard on her task, but when she pulled away, her gaze was drawn to his lips, now pinker and swollen where she had rubbed them…

_'Well,' _said the annoying voice in Sakura's head, _'that was smart, wasn't it? Draw your attention to his lips. And now you're wondering whether they taste of ice-cream, aren't you?'_

"I am not," Sakura muttered.

"Sorry?" Syaoran asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Nothing," she said.

Then suddenly, she pressed the back of her hand to his forehead and frowned.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "You have a fever!"

"I do not," Syaoran said stubbornly, then, right on cue, he gave his loudest sneeze yet.

"You're sick!" Sakura cried, almost triumphantly.

"I'm _not_!" Syaoran insisted, before he began to cough.

Sakura looked skeptical.

"Okay, so maybe I don't feel so good…" he admitted when the coughing fit subsided. His eyes were watering, he was flushed and he gave a loud sniff.

"You look terrible," Sakura said.

"Thanks," Syaoran said dryly.

"I knew you were too warm earlier," Sakura said, as if he hadn't spoken.

"Why didn't you say something?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

Syaoran sighed heavily.

"I hate being sick," he admitted, "it makes me feel useless."

"Well, pretending you're not sick is hardly going to make you better," Sakura pointed out.

She pulled her cel from her pocket and dialled Arisa's number. Syaoran sat silently while Sakura talked to Arisa, then hung up.

"She's coming now. Now, what you need is a cup of tea and some sleep. You can stay in bed tomorrow, and I'll go to the conferences myself," Sakura said firmly.

Syaoran opened his mouth to object, but Sakura shook her head.

"Not a word from you. You are going to play the meek little patient, Li, and do what I say, because you need to get well for our flight home," Sakura said.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Syaoran asked, sounding disgusted. Sakura only grinned.

"I used to love playing nurse to sick people when I was younger. Whenever my father or big brother got sick, I would order them off to bed and make endless cups of tea and bowls of soup," Sakura said, smiling reminiscently.

"Plus," she added, "I get to boss you around."

"I have a feeling," Syaoran said with a sigh, "that that is the part you're really enjoying."

…

"Now," Sakura said when she and Syaoran had made it back to their hotel room, "you get changed into your pajamas, and I'll go downstairs and get you a cup of tea from the kitchens. They'll get you something twenty-four hours a day, which is good."

Syaoran looked confused.

"But I didn't bring any pajamas," he said, "I sleep in the nude."

Sakura's mouth fell open.

"Really?" she squeaked. Syaoran grinned.

"Only when it's warm," he said, shrugging. Then he saw Sakura's astonished face and he laughed.

"I was just kidding!" he assured her.

"The expression on your face…" he said, laughing.

Sakura made a grumpy face at having been made fun of yet again.

"Just change into _something_," Sakura instructed as she left, closing the door behind her.

"I wonder," Syaoran muttered to himself as he dug through his suitcase for his night-clothes, "if she would find it funny if, when she came back, I was wearing something of hers?"

He thought for a moment.

"Probably not," he decided.

…


	19. Something of His

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Nineteen_

_Something of His_

When Sakura returned to their hotel room carrying a steaming Styrofoam cup of tea, Syaoran had obediently changed into his pajamas, which seemed to consist of a t-shirt emblazoned with the words 'May The Force Be With You.'

Hmm. Perhaps Syaoran was a secret Star Wars fan?

As he was in bed, propped up by the many pillows, Sakura couldn't see what he had on his bottom half. She smacked herself on the forehead when she realised that hadn't sounded right, even in her head. Syaoran looked worried, and peered quizzically at her.

"Er… Just a therapy thing I'm trying out. It's quite new, but it's really popular in Hollywood," she explained hastily, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring fashion before smacking herself on the forehead again to prove her point.

She had to bite down on her tongue to stop herself from saying 'ouch!' She hadn't meant to hit herself quite so hard.

Syaoran must have been at least partially convinced since he took the tea gratefully and downed half of it in one gulp before smiling contentedly.

"I feel a little warmer now," he said, as the tea pooled into a hot puddle in his stomach.

Sakura looked worried.

"Why, were you cold before?" she asked.

"Just a little," he replied. There was silence for a few moments.

"But I feel much better now, thank you," he said gratefully. Sakura blushed a little.

"You should go to sleep," she said softly, "I'm fairly certain it's nothing worse than a cold, so it shouldn't be necessary for you to see a doctor. Plenty of rest, fluids and hot soup and such."

"Thank you for the expert… Diagnosis, Nurse Kinomoto," he said sleepily, pausing to yawn in the middle. Then he blinked.

"Oh, wait, I've just realised something. I can't sleep in the bed - you need to," he said, sitting bolt upright in bed again before sneezing loudly then searching for a tissue. Sakura looked confused.

"No," she said, "I think you'll find that _you _need to, Li. I'll sleep on the… Floor…"

At that, the two of them looked down at the hard, probably cold wooden floor. And then back at each other. And then back at the floor again. Sakura had to work hard not to look horrified at the prospect.

Syaoran looked at her, an eyebrow raised.

"You," he said, "are going to sleep _there_? No way. _You _take the bed. I'm not so sick that I can be so rude as to make you sleep there."

Sakura smirked.

"Well now, Li can be a gentleman. Who would have thought that?"

Syaoran blushed.

"I'll just take a sheet off the bed and wrap it around me. I'll be fine," she continued, and she sounded as if she was trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Syaoran.

"No, you won't," Syaoran said, voicing the thoughts Sakura had in her head, "the sheet on this bed is paper-thin - it won't keep you warm _or _protect you from the hard floor. Now stop being silly and sleep in the damn bed!"

Really, Sakura thought, if she didn't know the guy, she'd find this all rather charming.

"Don't you think," Sakura said, sighing, "that I would be a pretty lousy nurse if I let my patient lie on the floor?"

Sakura wasn't one to fall for a little charm, and she wasn't going to give up on this easily.

"Fine then," Syaoran said, getting out of the bed. Sakura had the surprise of seeing that all he had on his bottom half was a pair of boxer shorts. She tried not to look too flustered.

He re-arranged the duvet, flattening it down. Then he stopped and looked at her.

"I am going to go to the bathroom, and when I come back, I want to see you changed and in this bed!" he exclaimed. He winced as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

"And I don't mean that how it sounds," he said. Sakura would have giggled at his expression, had Syaoran not been so serious. Still, she felt she had to open her mouth to object.

"Don't say a word!" Syaoran said quickly, "I don't want to hear any objections!"

When Sakura managed to say 'but', Syaoran charged over and covered her mouth with his hand.

"If it bothers you so much," he said, trying to ignore the feeling of Sakura's breath against his hand, "you can sleep _under _the covers, and I'll sleep on top of them. That way _nobody _gets the floor. Okay?"

Sakura shook her head and Syaoran yelled a Chinese swear word in exasperation as he got up.

"I have never met such an infuriating woman!" he ranted. Sakura sat silently and raised her hand.

"What? What is it?" he asked, more fiercely than he had originally intended.

"I just wanted to say that I would really prefer it if I slept on top of the covers, and you slept under them," she said.

"Fine!" Syaoran exclaimed, and he made his way into the bathroom.

…

He had only been in there a few minutes when he heard a pitiful wail of "Li!"

He sighed heavily and shook his head. Nothing with that woman was ever simple.

"What?" he called from the bathroom, already fearing the worst.

"We're going to have to go buy pajamas!" Sakura cried as she looked at the garment in her hands with dismay.

"We're _what_?" Syaoran yelled back, quite certain that he had misheard her.

"Come and see!" she called, and Syaoran walked out of the bathroom. He saw her predicament at once, and began to laugh.

"It's not funny!" Sakura cried.

…

"Tomoyo-chan packed my nightwear for me while I took a bathroom break," she explained, still refusing to see the funny side as she and Syaoran looked at the items that were causing Sakura so much distress.

"I have a feeling she designed them, and wanted me to try them out," Sakura continued, looking at the garments with a miserable and annoyed expression.

"Tell her," Syaoran said, smirking mischievously, "I think they're cute."

"Don't you start with me!" Sakura said, but by this time the corners of her mouth were lifting slightly.

"You know as well as I do that these… Aren't quite the sort of thing I…" Sakura tried to say as she continued to look at them.

They were three night-dresses, one in scarlet, one in green and one in black. They were all made of silk, as far as Sakura could tell (but she couldn't be sure, as Tomoyo-chan was the fabric expert of the two of them).

They all were low-cut and slinky. The black one would have come to her ankles, the scarlet one to just below her knees, and the green one was another ankle-length. The two ankle-length ones had spaghetti straps, a long slit up one of the sides and the backs in them were cut out with ribbons that would criss-cross over her back to hold the night-dresses together.

The scarlet one had scarlet lace around the hem, and was essentially strapless, except it had two scarlet ribbons that could be tied around the neck to make it a halter night-dress. There was a design of flowers embroidered on it.

"Also tell her," Syaoran said huskily into her ear, "that although I tried, I couldn't get you to wear one for me."

Sakura flushed the exact shade of the scarlet one at that comment. Suddenly she could see herself dressed in one of them, the black one. Li was kissing her, then slowly, agonisingly slowly, pulling the whole thing right off over her head…

She choked on her own saliva. What the hell?

"So… So that you could take a picture of me then photocopy it and put copies up all over work, right?" she said, her voice wobbling.

"No," Syaoran murmured in, damn it, that same irresistibly husky, sexy voice, "just so I could see you in it. The green one would look good on you, because it would bring out your eyes."

He reached out and stroked the garment before picking it up and holding it beside her eyes.

"Yes, it would suit you… Not quite a perfect match, but then again, nothing is," he said softly. Sakura had to struggle for breath.

_'He's just teasing you,' _the voice in her head said, _'just playing around again. The two of you will just laugh in a moment, and that'll be it. That's the way it always is. That's the way it has to be.'_

"I've never seen anything in quite the same shade of emerald as your eyes," he murmured, and, much to Sakura's confusion, he was moving closer as he spoke.

It was crazy. Utter madness. He knew this, his conscience screamed the fact at him and yet he couldn't stop. Because really, he didn't hate her at all. He wondered, really, if he ever had. And ever since the first time he'd kissed her, he'd dreamt about it. He'd woken up with the scent of her hanging in the air around him, the taste of her in his mouth.

And he knew had to have the real thing one last time, even if it wrecked everything.

She was frozen to the spot, watching Syaoran with a mixture of breathlessness and shock. Her eyelids fell closed as she waited for something she wasn't sure she wanted. And yet, at the same time, it was something she wasn't sure she didn't want. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face…

And her cellphone rang.

Her eyes snapped open and she resisted the urge to mutter a swear word under her breath. She was fairly certain she heard a faint groan from Syaoran.

"I- I'd better get that," she said quietly, and much to her disgust, her voice was shaky. Syaoran nodded.

_'It's better this way, anyway…'_

She answered the call and turned her back on Syaoran as she spoke into her phone.

Syaoran sat back and raked his hand through his hair.

On the other end, a recorded message told Sakura that her number had come up as a winner in their prize draw and if she called this number which cost a fortune per minute she would win a fabulous prize.

(A.N. God, I HATE those things! There have been times where I've gotten out of the bath and run down the stairs to answer the phone, and it's been one of those STUPID recorded messages. Sometimes I even feel the need to yell down the phone at them before hanging up : -) )

Sakura hung up and sighed. Interrupted for the sake of something stupid like that. But perhaps it was an omen. A warning - a 'don't let yourself go there again' type of thing.

She spun round on her heel to face him.

"I think we should go to bed," she said softly, not looking him in the eye.

"You can borrow something of mine to sleep in," he said, and he got up off the floor. He rummaged through his suitcase and gave her an oversized T-shirt of his.

Really, the last thing she wanted to do was sleep in something of his, but she had no choice, so she thanked him and headed to the bathroom to change. The shirt smelled very definitely of Syaoran - a mixture of his cologne and his own natural scent.

When she came back out, Syaoran was already lying in bed. Sakura lay on her side of the bed and closed her eyes.

Syaoran couldn't explain why he liked seeing her wear something of his, but he did. And it was surprising how fast he managed to fall asleep - he supposed it was because she was lying beside him - and in his opinion, that was where she belonged.

…


	20. Almost Angelic

**Disclaimer: **CCS isn't mine. Charlotte, Arisa and Ueda are.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty_

_Almost Angelic_

It was strange how Syaoran actually looked quite angelic when he slept, Sakura thought. His face was cutely flushed, and his usually-messy hair was even messier as it splayed out against the pure-white pillow.

"It's a pity you're not nearly so sweet when you're awake," she said to herself as she got up and walked around the room, rubbing her arms frantically to try to generate some heat.

"I'm glad you're warm, but I'm freezing!" Sakura said to Syaoran. He was sleeping so deeply that he didn't even stir. She stopped for a second.

"I wonder if I could…" she said to herself as she looked over at him. A part of her knew she shouldn't, but she could freeze to death before the morning at this rate!

_'Besides,' _she thought, almost trying to talk herself into it, _'I can just get up really early tomorrow, before he wakes up. He won't even know about it.'_

Gingerly, she lifted up the edge of the duvet and quickly slid into bed before she could change her mind. She sighed contentedly as she snuggled down into the pillows and pulled the duvet up around her neck. Syaoran's body heat had warmed the bed up well, and she was finally able to fall asleep in comfort.

…

Of course, Sakura should have known that her plan wouldn't work.

Syaoran woke up the next morning and when he opened his eyes, his vision was filled with Sakura's face. She was lying right beside him, a picture of sleeping innocence. At first he was confused as to how she had managed to get there, but he decided it didn't matter. He noticed he had thrown a leg protectively over her in his sleep, but decided to pretend that he hadn't noticed it and went back to sleep as sunlight streamed through the white curtains into the room.

…

Sakura woke a few hours later and found Syaoran a little too close to her for comfort. She shifted slightly and blushed when she realised one of his legs was over her side.

_'Well, you have only yourself to blame,' _she thought, but she was pleased with herself for waking up before he noticed it.

She got out of bed and stretched. Syaoran frowned in his sleep when she moved and woke up, blinking sleepily.

"Good morning, Li," Sakura said cheerfully.

"Sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes," Syaoran answered truthfully.

Sakura smiled, said she was glad, and checked the time on her watch, which she had left on the beside cabinet last night. She gasped when she saw what time it was.

"HOE!" she cried, "Ten-thirty! I'm so LATE!"

She stumbled around the room, grabbing articles of clothing from her suitcase.

"I'll call Honda-san!" Syaoran said helpfully as he picked up his cellphone.

"Thanks!" Sakura cried gratefully as she dashed into the bathroom.

…

After the shortest shower she had ever taken, Sakura rushed out of the bathroom, fully dressed. Her shoulder-length hair was damp, but there was no time to blow-dry it.

"Oh no!" she groaned. "Breakfast!"

"I asked Honda-san to pick up something for you on the way," Syaoran said. Sakura hugged him briefly. Syaoran blushed.

"Okay, you stay in bed and get plenty of rest. Get room-service to send you up soup and things," Sakura instructed as she grabbed her coat.

"Okay, okay! Honda-san will pick you up outside! Now go!" Syaoran exclaimed as he practically shoved her out the door.

…

"Why are you running so late today?" Arisa asked as Sakura gratefully gulped down the coffee and ate the breakfast bar Arisa had given her. They were currently driving to the conference center.

"Did something happen with Li-san?" Arisa asked mischievously, grinning wickedly when Sakura choked on her breakfast.

"God no!" Sakura yelped.

"I just slept in!" she exclaimed.

"Where _is _Li-san this morning, anyway?" Arisa asked.

"He's sick, so he couldn't come," Sakura explained.

…

Sakura discovered when she arrived at the center that she had completely missed her first meeting. Her next one wasn't for another half hour, so she settled herself at a table in the conference center's café to wait.

…

It was a bored and relieved Sakura who called Arisa hours later. It was nine P.M., and she was finally done for the day. She had actually worked hard to listen to what was going on in the meetings, as Syaoran wasn't there to do it for her. Everything that had been said had seemed pretty reasonable to her, so there was no need to start an argument or anything.

…

When Sakura came into the hotel room, Syaoran was fast asleep. Sakura smiled to herself at the sight of him, curled up under the duvet. There were a number of soggy tissues in the bin beside him - Sakura supposed the cold had really set in and his nose had been running a lot.

She kicked her shoes off and sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her sore feet.

"Kinomoto?" Syaoran mumbled in his sleep as he sat up.

"Good evening, Sleepyhead," Sakura greeted, smiling. "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thank you," he said, then gestured to the numerous empty bowls and cups beside him.

"I took your advice," he said, "plenty of soup and fluids."

Sakura lay back against the pillows with a tired sigh.

"Hard day?" Syaoran asked her. Sakura snorted.

"The worst," she said, "I missed my first meeting, and everything just sort of went downhill from there. I really tried hard to listen, but I'm not nearly as good as you at understanding what they're talking about. I've only been in advertising for a while."

"I'm sure," Syaoran said, smiling, "that you did a great job. And we get to go home tomorrow morning."

Sakura nodded, glad that he had pointed that out.

"I'm starving," Sakura said suddenly, "I guess I'll just call room service and have them send something up."

At that moment Sakura's cellphone rang. Sakura sighed, hoping that it wasn't another recorded message.

"Hello?" she said wearily upon answering it.

"Hello, Kinomoto-san?" a man asked. Sakura was immediately more alert.

"Yes," she said, somewhat cautiously.

"It's Ueda here," he said. Sakura laughed.

"Ueda-san, hello! How are you?" she asked, sitting upright. Syaoran was looking at her, mouthing, 'Ueda? What does _he _want?' Sakura shrugged in answer.

"Kinomoto-san, I'm glad I caught you. How has it gone so far?" Ueda asked.

"Okay," Sakura answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"Good, good. Listen, there was a mistake with your flights. You're not going home until 2 P.M. tomorrow, okay? Not six A.M." he said clearly.

Sakura nodded, feeling relieved it wasn't something worse.

"Sure. No problem," she said, and hung up.

"Our flight was booked wrongly," Sakura explained to Syaoran, "we're not going home until two P.M. tomorrow, not six A.M. as we had thought."

Syaoran looked relieved at the nature of this news too.

"So we don't need to have an early night tonight, after all? How about we go out to dinner properly, then, like I promised? I feel totally better now, so how about it?" Syaoran suggested. Sakura's eyes lit up.

"That would be lovely," Sakura said, smiling.

…

An hour later both Syaoran and Sakura were showered and dressed up, ready to go. Sakura was wearing a simple white dress with heels that had ankle-ties, her hair falling in a tumble of curls, and Syaoran was dressed in a simple but classy dark suit.

Arisa remarked on their fancy appearance as they got into the back of the cab.

"Aren't we looking nice?" she teased.

"Where are you two going?"

"Out to dinner," Sakura explained, smiling, "we're celebrating because we go home tomorrow."

"Oh," Arisa said, looking sad, "I'd grown to quite like driving you two around."

Sakura immediately looked sad as well.

"I'd forgotten that we wouldn't be seeing you any more," she said.

Syaoran felt he had better make a suggestion quickly before there were two crying women to deal with.

"Why don't you come to dinner with us, Honda-san?" he suggested. Arisa laughed.

"Dressed like this? No way! You guys look so fancy and everything! No, I'll see you tomorrow, when I drive you to the airport. And we'll see each other again after that sometime, I hope," Arisa said, managing to smile.

"I know we will," Sakura said, smiling too.

Syaoran breathed a silent sigh of relief at avoiding any waterworks.

…

"Ow, my head…" Sakura moaned as she sat up the next morning. Sunlight was streaming into the room and hurt her eyes. She and Syaoran, it appeared, were lying on the floor. Sakura's head hurt like hell, and there were suspicious gaps in her memory of last night.

_'Right. Headache tablets. Alka-selters. Something,' _she thought as she sat up groggily and shook Syaoran awake.

"What?" he muttered.

"Ow, my head…" he muttered grumpily. Sakura stared at him, open-mouthed.

"I know I'm hung-over, but I don't think I'm _that _hungover, so it must _really _say 'Just married' on your forehead in eyeliner," Sakura said, getting slightly worried.

"What?" Syaoran asked. Sakura sighed. Clearly he wasn't going to function like an ordinary human being until she got some tablets into him.

"Alka-selters," she explained, and dragged him with her to her suitcase. She pulled a pack out and walked into the bathroom with two of Syaoran's cups from yesterday in her hands. She rinsed them out and filled them with water from the bathroom taps.

"Drink this," Sakura said as she thrust one water-filled cup at him, "and take these."

She showed him the two pills balanced on the palm of her other hand. Syaoran obeyed wordlessly. Sakura took two herself and sat back down on the floor beside him.

"Now, think hard. What did we do last night?" Sakura asked him. Syaoran screwed up his eyes to remember.

"We went to dinner, I think… Then we went to a bar and got drunk…" he said slowly.

"Why did we do that?" she asked him, confused.

"How the hell should I know?" he asked. Sakura shrugged.

"Fair point," she said.

"Now, why would you have 'just married', or, to be more precise, 'just marryed' with a backwards 's', written on your head in shaky letters with black eyeliner?"

"Do I?" Syaoran asked, clapping his hands to his forehead.

"Yes," Sakura said simply.

"Wait a minute…" she said suddenly, her eyes screwed up to remember.

"Oh my God, we didn't… We _didn't_… _Did _we?" she asked, sounding panicked.

"Did we what?" Syaoran asked, then realisation dawned on him and he gasped.

"No, no, we wouldn't… _Would _we?"

Sakura leapt to her feet and began to pace in an agitated manner.

"This is absurd! Of _course _we didn't! We just started messing around, and -"

She stopped abruptly when she spotted something on the floor.

"What? What is it?" Syaoran asked, but Sakura couldn't answer. She looked horrified as she picked up a cassette and put it in the video slot on the television. She and Syaoran watched, completely and utterly horrified, as a very boozed-up version of themselves said 'I do'…

…

Further Disclaimer: And, obviously, accidental-marriage trope borrowed from such diverse sources as The Simpsons, Friends, and general pop culture.


	21. And So Nearly Escaping

_Disclaimer:_ CCS isn't mine.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-One_

_And So Nearly Escaping_

"What are we going to do?" Sakura wailed. "This is awful! I can't even remember my own WEDDING! I can't stand my HUSBAND!" she continued as she burst into tears.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Syaoran said as he patted her back in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"This we can fix," he said, "we just fly home and get it annulled. We were both drunk, and therefore, we didn't know what we were doing. Simple. We even have evidence." He nodded towards the tape.

"Actually," he said, suddenly thoughtful, "be thankful it wasn't something even more stupid that we couldn't have fixed."

"Like what?" Sakura asked as she snuffled and wiped her eyes, eager to hear of an action even more stupid so she would feel better.

"We could have woken up in bed together," he said seriously, looking at her, "and I mean really, _properly _in bed together." Sakura felt relieved.

"Good point," she conceded as she blushed. "I feel a little better about the whole thing now."

"Can you remember anything about it at all?" Syaoran asked her. Sakura shook her head.

"I don't think so. Why, can you?" she asked. Syaoran nodded.

"I think so, but I have only a few disjointed scenes etched in my memory," he said.

"Well, go on," Sakura encouraged him.

"Do you remember us talking after we came out of the bar? It was early in the morning, I know," he began, screwing up his eyes as he fought to remember.

"Yes!" Sakura gasped. "We were trying to decide what to do next!"

"You're right!" Syaoran said triumphantly. Then he lapsed back into thinking mode.

"I said I had… What was it? Fifty dollars? In my pocket. And you…" Syaoran continued.

"And I said, 'What could we do with fifty dollars?'" Sakura cried.

"Yeah! And then we walked past that 'Fairytale Wedding Chapel' place…" Syaoran cotinued, his voice becoming slower as a sense of dread crept over him.

"And there was a poster advertising the 'Wedding Special' - a ceremony for fifty dollars…" Sakura finished in a whisper. They looked at each other.

"Why did we have to get married _there_, of all places?" Sakura asked.

"The minute we saw that place, I think a curse was put on us," Syaoran said dramatically, "the moment we agreed that we believed in the power of that place, I think we were jinxed."

Sakura couldn't think of any other reason.

"Or perhaps it was Honda-san's doing," she joked, the corners of her mouth creeping up into a smile. Syaoran smiled back.

"Perhaps," he agreed.

"We'd better get packing," Sakura said, heaving herself to her feet and looking around the room.

"You know what's weird?" Syaoran asked her, a secret sort of smile gracing his face.

"What?" Sakura asked gently.

"Even though it's only going to be for a couple of days, until we get everything sorted out, you're Mrs Li. My wife," he said, and he smiled up at her.

"That - that _is _weird," she agreed.

But the weirdest thing was that it actually sounded quite good to her.

…

"I _love _to re-pack!" Sakura sang as she threw her clothes hap-hazardly back into her suitcase. Syaoran had to laugh as he watched her.

"I can make a _mess _when I re-pack!" she sang cheerfully as she continued to crumple her clothes into her suitcase.

"You know, when you get those clothes out later, they're going to be a big old wrinkled mess," Syaoran warned her, but he was smiling.

"Doesn't matter!" she sang. "I can just press them later!"

Syaoran had to wonder if that was worth all the trouble, but he had to admit that Sakrua was finished with her packing long before he was finished with his, as he folded up all his clothes neatly. Sakura sat on the edge of the bed and sighed.

"This really is a lovely room," she said as she gazed around, "I hope whoever comes next will be more suited to it."

"Actually," Syaoran pointed out, "in the end, we were quite suited to it. We got married, didn't we?"

Sakura shrugged, then pulled out her cellphone.

"Hello, Honda-san? Yeah, we're ready to leave…"

…

The drive to the airport had been full of Sakura and Arisa saying goodbye and swapping cellphone numbers, home numbers, email addresses, fax numbers, home addresses, and everything else they could think of.

When they pulled up outside the airport, the three of them had stood on the pavement, looking at each other and not knowing what to say.

"I'll miss you, Honda-san," Sakura said, as her eyes welled up with tears.

"I'll miss you too, Kinomoto-san," Arisa said, her eyes watering a little despite the fact she was resisting as hard as she could. Kinomoto-san was upset enough for the two of them.

"Yeah, you take care of yourself, Honda-san," Syaoran said as he stepped forward and hugged her.

"And don't forget to stay in touch! I check my e-mail all the time, so I'll definitely get any messages you send!" he continued.

"I will," Arisa promised as she clutched the piece of paper with Sakura and Syaoran's details on it.

Sakura rushed forward and hugged Arisa tightly.

"You be careful, okay? And when you and your boyfriend get married, you have to invite us, okay?" Sakura asked, her voice wobbling as she choked on her tears.

Arisa laughed.

"Sure, Kinomoto-san. And when you and Li-san finally get on with it, you have to tell me!" she said, smiling. Sakura and Syaoran blushed, feeling slightly guilty about the fact that they were actually married but weren't going to tell her.

"Come back to Tokyo sometime!" Arisa called, waving as Sakura and Syaoran walked into the airport.

"We will!" they called back, and with a final look back at the crying cab driver, they disappeared from view.

…

It was an uneventful flight home, much to Sakura and Syaoran's relief. The last thing they needed right at that moment was a repeat of the last flight they took. They picked up their baggage at the carousel and walked together towards 'Arrivals'.

"I'll get in touch with you soon about the annulment," Syaoran promised her.

"Okay. I guess the sooner we do it, the better," Sakura said as she pushed one of the large glass double-doors that led into 'Arrivals'.

There was a large party standing among the people waiting to meet the Tokyo flight. They were all waving banners that read 'Congratulations!' The party contained four women around the same age who looked startlingly similar. The four women had four men standing next to them. Several children scampered around them. An older woman with long, black hair was talking to a much older man with glasses while a woman who looked to be Sakura and Syaoran's age - who had long, raven-black hair in odangos - was holding the hand of a man standing beside her.

They all appeared to be waiting for someone and were looking around excitedly.

_'They look like nice people,' _Sakura thought, smiling, _'I wonder who they're waiting for.'_

She looked at Syaoran and was startled to discover that he was rapidly turning white.

"Li, what's wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"Those people - they're your in-laws," he choked.

"What?" Sakura hissed, careful to keep her voice down in case they heard her.

"Oh God… I don't know what to do! How did they find out we got married?" Syaoran babbled as he raked his hand backwards and forwards through his hair in an agitated manner.

"Li, what will we do?" Sakura demanded - she was becoming increasingly panicked.

"Just - just play along for now, okay? Just until I figure out what to do," he replied.

Suddenly, one of the four similar-looking women spotted them and before Sakura could even blink, the whole party was rushing over to them. The four similar-looking women were busy hugging Sakura and exclaiming over how adorable she was. Everyone was saying 'congratulations!' over and over again. Sakura couldn't breathe.

Luckily, Syaoran came to her rescue and pulled her out from the women's clutches.

"You're going to suffocate her!" he said lightly.

"Everyone," he said as he wrapped an arm around Sakura's waist, mostly to protect her from his large, crazy family, "this is my… Wife, Sakura."

For some reason, Sakura's heart fluttered at hearing him call her by her first name.

"Sakura, dear, this is… Everybody. That's my mother, Li Yelan -" he paused to gesture at the older, regal-looking woman who smiled at her, "these four ladies are my sisters -" he gestured to the four similar-looking women, "Kishimoto Shiefa, Sugisaki Fuutie, Niwa Fan Ren and Himawari Fei Mei. In case you're wondering why they look so alike, they're quadruplets."

Sakura's eyes widened.

"Quadruplets? Really? Cool!"

Everyone laughed.

"That man is our family friend, Wei -" he pointed at the much older-looking man, who smiled, "she -" he said, pointing to the girl with long black hair who looked about their age, "is Haruno Meiling, with her husband, Haruno Satoshi; those four men are my sister's husbands: Fei Mei's husband, Himawari Daisuke; Shiefa's husband, Kishimono Yuki; Fan Ren's husband, Niwa Kyo; and Fuutie's husband, Sugisaki Hideki."

Each man waved at her as he said their name. Sakura's head was spinning with all those names and connections. So those four men were Syaoran's brothers-in-law…

"Now this is where things _really _get complicated," Syaoran warned.

"So you mean it hasn't got complicated yet? I was hoping you were done!" she exclaimed, and everyone laughed again.

"Right, brace yourself, darling… That little girl, the one with the very long ponytail? She's Sugisaki Tohru, Fan Ren and Hideki's daughter. So I guess she's your niece by marriage. That little boy tugging on her dress is her little brother, Sugisaki Kotarou. The tall girl over there is Himawari Rina, she's ten years old and is Fei Mei and Daisuke's daughter."

Sakura tried very hard to remember everything and said hello to the three children she had so far been introduced to.

"The little boy Rina is holding is Haruno Sasuke, he's Meiling and Satoshi's little boy. He's only six months old. The two girls in pink are identical twins, Niwa Riku and Niwa Alice, Kyo and Fuutie's four-year-old girls. And, lastly, the dark-haired boy over there is Kishimono Minoru, Shiefa and Yuki's nine-year-old."

Sakura waved at them as Syaoran said their names and they waved back.

"Are you done?" Sakura asked Syaoran, hoping and praying that that was indeed the case.

"Yes," he said, smiling.

"Thank God!" Sakura exclaimed jokingly, "I have no idea how I'm going to remember all those names!"

Everyone smiled at her, and a few of the children came to her to hug their new aunt. Syaoran took the opportunity to sidle over to his mother.

"Now, Mother, how _did _you know Sakura and I had gotten married?" Syaoran asked, trying to sound as though the answer wasn't all that important to him.

"Well, Xiao Lang, dear, you should have known that I would find out, now shouldn't you? Nothing you do ever goes unnoticed by me. Your uncle saw the two of you - he works at that 'Fairytale Wedding Chapel' place," Yelan said as she watched Sakura cuddle and chat to the children.

Syaoran winced.

_'Oh yeah, guess I forgot that no matter where I go, there's always a Li somewhere. Big families are a drag.'_

"Well, he's not actually your uncle, but it's all so complicated that to call him that just makes everything easier. Anyway, you know who I'm talking about, don't you? Your 'uncle' Liang?" Yelan asked.

_'Oh yeah,' _Syaoran thought, _'him. Well, I guess 'beat the crap outta Uncle Liang goes on my 'To-Do List'.'_

"He called me up to ask me whether I was aware that my son was currently getting married to a very pretty girl in the chapel he worked at in Tokyo. I told him I wasn't. I also told him I wasn't very pleased," Yelan fixed Syaoran with one of her Looks and he blushed.

"I _wish _you hadn't run away to do it," Yelan said with a sigh, "the Elders would be positively _furious _if they knew. But they don't need to know - we'll simply have another wedding for show. You didn't need to take her away to get married - I can see you made a wonderful choice."

Yelan was watching Sakura chat happily and animatedly to the children, pausing now and again to exchange a few sentences of conversation with the adults. Syaoran was panicking. How was he going to tell his mother that, actually, he and Sakura needed an annulment, pronto?

"She'll be a great aunt and a fantastic mother, I can tell," Yelan said happily as she watched her daughter-in-law. Syaoran endeavoured not to choke at the word 'mother.'

Okay, he needed to have a serious talk with Sakura as soon as possible. _What _were they going to do? Obviously, as his mother had delusions of he and Sakura getting married on purpose because they were in love, Uncle Liang hadn't mentioned the fact that the pair had been roaringly drunk at the time.

"Well, Mother, you'll have to excuse me. I need to talk to my, uh, wife. I think we need to leave as Sakura said she wasn't feeling too well," Syaoran lied. Yelan immediately looked stricken.

"Yes, of course! You two call a cab and go home! We'll start making arrangements for the wedding later. I'm proud of you, Xiao Lang. I thought you were never going to get married. And you chose such a darling wife - I just know I'm going to adore my daughter-in-law," Yelan exclaimed.

Syaoran managed to force a smile. He walked over to Sakura and took her arm, steering her away from his family.

"Sakura's not feeling well," Syaoran explained, as there were a lot of disappointed noises being made at the fact that Sakura was leaving.

Sakura could tell that she needed to play along, so she said, "yes, I don't feel so good. I'll see you all some other time! It was lovely meeting you!"

Everyone waved and called 'goodbye!' as she and Syaoran left the airport and hailed a cab when they got outside. They threw their luggage into the trunk and clambered into the back seat of the cab. Sakura looked at Syaoran.

"Well? What are we going to do, smarty-pants?" she asked sarcastically.

"Stay married," Syaoran blurted out. Sakura looked horrified.

"No! We _can't_!" she exclaimed.

"Wait, here me out! I have a plan!" Syaoran pleaded. Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him but let him speak.

"Listen, I'm heir to the Li clan. That's really important. Because of that, I had to get married soon. Mother saw it fit to 'introduce me to', in other words, 'force upon me' so-called 'suitable' candidates. Now I'm finally married, that will stop. So I propose we stay married for six months, so as it looks like we really tried with it, then we get divorced. Then I'll be so busy 'getting over' my 'failed marriage' that Mother won't even _think _about me getting remarried!" Syaoran explained. Sakura sighed.

"You forgot to mention the part about why _I _do this," she said.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly, "Mother's already planning another 'proper' wedding. She _loves _you. It'll break her heart if you tell her the real reason we got married. Plus, the children will be devastated. They're so excited about having a new aunt, and they adore you too."

Sakura chewed her bottom lip, feeling guilty.

"And I'll make _you _tell everyone that we're not staying married, because _you're _the one who decided we couldn't even try it. _You'll _have to tell my mother that she doesn't get to help plan a wedding and she doesn't get a new daughter-in-law. _You'll _have to tell the children that their Aunt Sakura isn't actually going to be their Aunt Sakura. And besides, you get to be an _aunt_!" he exclaimed.

Sakura felt _really _guilty now, and her lip was bleeding severely. She screwed up her face at the disgusting metallic taste of her blood.

"But I'm just going to disappoint them in the end, anyway. We're not going to stay married forever. Isn't it actually more cruel to lead everyone on _then _get divorced?" Sakura tried to reason.

"But, when that happens, _I'll _explain to everyone. And I'll let you continue to see the kids, too," Syaoran said.

"I must be crazy," Sakura muttered, "I'm actually _considering _this."

She thought for a few more moments while Syaoran looked at her with big, pleading amber eyes. She sighed.

"Only if we stick to these rules," she said. Syaoran threw himself on her in a rib-crushing hug. She gasped for breath.

"I - can't - breathe!" she choked, and Syaoran apologised and immediately let go.

"Don't celebrate just yet," she warned when she had successfully re-caught her breath, "you haven't heard the rules yet. One - I'm not sleeping with you, but that one's pretty obvious -" Syaoran rolled his eyes and muttered 'duh!' -"Two, I am not your maid. Any housework or whatever is shared between the two of us. Three, we part at the end of the six months no matter what. Both of us are _forbidden _to fall in love with the other. That's all."

"Fine. One, I don't want to sleep with you; two, I do all my own housework already and three, are you kidding me? Not falling in love with you will be only too easy," he said confidently.

"So it's a deal," Sakura asked, holding out her hand. Syaoran shook hers with his own.

"It's a deal, koishii nyoubou (dear wife)," he said, smiling. Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Okay, rule number four - don't call me that."

…


	22. Telling Tomoyo

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Two_

_Telling Tomoyo_

"Okay, so I guess I'll come pick you up tomorrow," Syaoran said as he and his wife (A.N. It feels really weird to write that!) stood on the pavement outside her house, "so you, mother and all the other women in my family can start planning the wedding."

Sakura shuddered at the prospect.

"Okay," she replied. "But Tomoyo-chan will probably want to help too."

Syaoran laughed.

"Oh, I forgot about Daidouji-san. That will be fine, I'm sure. Goodbye, koishii nyoubou," he said as he turned away from her to get back into the cab.

"Don't call me that!" Sakura yelled after him. He just smiled at her, and let himself be driven away. Sakura had to ask herself what she had let herself in for.

…

"I'm home!" Sakura yelled as she walked into her house, dropping her suitcase in the hall. An over-excited, slightly hysterical squeal and the sound of something being dropped was her reply. Tomoyo appeared in a split second and hurled herself at Sakura, demanding to know how everything went.

Eriol had followed his fiancée at a more sedate pace, and he smiled at Sakura.

"Welcome back, Sakura-san," he greeted, before moving to pick up her case for her. Then he grinned.

"You know," he said, "you surprised Tomoyo so much that she dropped a tea cup."

Sakura laughed.

"Really?" she asked. Tomoyo blushed.

"Well, I was expecting you today, but not for another couple of hours," she said as she hugged her friend.

"You haven't told me anything about 'Kinomoto Sakura's Really Boring Work Trip' yet!" Tomoyo said, jokingly accusing as she waggled a jokingly rebuking finger in Sakura's face. Eriol and Sakura sweatdropped. _She named it?_

Then Sakura sighed.

"Actually," she said wearily, "that's not _quite _right anymore. It's Li Sakura now."

…

"When," Sakura asked Eriol as she searched through the kitchen cupboards for a bottle of smelling-salts, "do you think she's going to come to?"

Eriol shrugged as he fanned his fainted fiancée with a piece of paper.

"I have no idea," he replied, then a teasing glint came into his blue eyes, "maybe never."

Sakura immediately looked horrified.

"Never?" she cried. "Oh no, I killed Tomoyo-chan!"

Eriol resisted the sudden urge to laugh. Sakura-san was always so gullible.

"Well," he said, still managing to keep up his serious facade, "it _was _an amazingly shocking piece of news."

Sakura was now on the verge of tears.

"I shouldn't have told her!" she wailed. This time, Eriol did laugh.

"I think, Sakura-san," he said, "that she _might _have realised what had happened when you changed your last name and moved out."

"Well," Sakura said as she wiped her eyes, "I though it would be better to let Tomoyo-chan know as early as possible."

"I think you're right. And I also think you're still as easy to fool as always - Tomoyo will come round when you find the smelling salts," Eriol said with a serene smile.

Sakura fumed.

"Eriol-kun! I can't believe you _lied _to me about something so serious!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry, Sakura-san. But it was too much to resist, you know…" he said as Sakura continued to rummage through the cupboards.

"Not here… Or here… Or this one…" she muttered to herself as she worked. Finally she found them with some other first-aid equipment and she let out a cry of delight.

"Found them!"

"Well done, Sakura-san," Eriol said, smiling, as he waved the little bottle under Tomoyo's nose. The black-haired girl blinked and sat up woozily.

"Eriol? Sakura-chan?" she asked as she shook her head from side-to-side to try to wake herself up.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried. Tomoyo smiled at her, and at Eriol.

"Now," Eriol said, keen to hear the rest of the story, "you _were _on a business trip, weren't you, Sakura-san? That wasn't just an excuse so that you could run away and get married, was it?"

Sakura blushed and shook her head.

"Iie. I really was on a business trip. To cut a long story short, on our last night in Tokyo Syaoran and I…"

Eriol's eyes widened in horror as he suddenly began to stare at her stomach.

"Oh my God! You're not _pregnant_, are you?" he demanded, and Tomoyo choked on nothing.

"Oh my God!" Tomoyo yelled, but she sounded absolutely delighted. "That's _great_! We can go shopping for little shoes and I can knit some clothes…"

"No!" Sakura interrupted, looking horrified herself. "No! God no! I am _not _pregnant!"

"Oh well, I guess that's false alarm number two…" Eriol muttered. Sakura looked utterly confused.

"It's a long story," Tomoyo explained.

Sakura was still confused, but decided not to press the matter.

"Anyway, I was _going _to say that on our last night in Tokyo Syaoran and I got drunk and decided it would be fun to get married. We were _really _drunk," she explained.

Now it was Tomoyo's turn to look confused.

"Then why not get it annulled? Oh, wait, now you're going to tell us that you're only going to be 'Mrs Li' for a little while, just until you and Syaoran get it annulled," Tomoyo said, looking quite confident that she had just figured everything out.

"Iie. No, Tomoyo-chan. I - I'm staying married to him," Sakura said softly. Tomoyo blinked, seemingly unable to speak. So Eriol took over.

"Why?" he asked. "The way Tomoyo told it, you hated the guy."

"Oh, I _do_," she assured him. Now Eriol and Tomoyo _both _looked bewildered. Sakura sweatdropped.

"I guess I'm not making much sense, am I?" she asked as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Well, _I'm_ lost, at any rate," Eriol said.

"Listen," Sakura attempted to wrap up the story quickly, "we're trying out being married to each other for six months. At the end of the six months, we get divorced."

"Okay," Tomoyo said as she tried to process all the frankly strange information she had so far been presented with, "_why _don't you just annul it now, and get everything over with?"

"Because Syaoran's family met us at the airport. They all knew that we had gotten married, and were congratulating us, as they thought we were really serious about being married. The worst part is that all my new nieces and nephews (Syaorans' sisters' kids) were introduced to me. I fell in love with them at first sight.

Syaoran said that if we stayed married for six months, _he _would tell everyone that we were getting divorced and he would make sure I still saw all the kids.

If I didn't stay married to him, then _I _would have to explain to everyone that the marriage was an accident and I couldn't see the kids anymore. Plus, my mother-in-law really likes me, according to Syaoran. I couldn't disappoint my new mother-in-law, or my new-sisters-in-law, or my new nieces and nephews… I knew I couldn't never see the children again," Sakura explained.

"_Now _things are starting to make a little more sense," Tomoyo said, nodding.

"Yeah, I think I get it now. But do you _really _hate him? I mean, if you do, then won't it be six months of hell? Sometimes couples get married, after being couples for ages, and being married _still _drives them crazy and splits them up," Eriol said.

Tomoyo looked at him.

"Thanks a lot, Eriol. You really instilled a lot of confidence in your fiancée over here," she said dryly.

Eriol shrugged.

"It's the truth. I'm just warning you, Sakura-san."

"Of course," Tomoyo said softly, "there's always the possibility that one of you won't want to leave the other after the six months. Being married could push you together, too."

Sakura shook her head.

"Don't worry, I'm confident that won't be a problem. We made a rule, you see, that we're forbidden to fall in love with each other."

Tomoyo and Eriol exchanged worried looks, but Sakura didn't notice.

"Oh, wait!" Sakura exclaimed suddenly. "I have to pee! Hold on a second, I won't be long!"

And she hurried away.

"Oh, yeah," Eriol said, his voice heavy with sarcasm, "a _rule_ is going to stop you from falling in love." Tomoyo looked worried.

"One of them is going to be hurt over this, I'm quite certain," she said quietly.

"But we have to support Sakura-San's decision," Eriol said, trying to sound confident and upbeat. "Maybe they'll both come out of this perfectly fine."

At that moment, Sakura returned.

"So, anyway," she said, launching back into her story without a moment's pause, "we have to have a re-wedding so that everyone can come and I wanted to know if you would help Syaoran's mother, sisters, cousin and I to help organise it. And I also really want you to be my maid of honour."

Tomoyo's eyes filled with tears.

"Really?" she asked. Sakura nodded, smiling.

"Of course, Tomoyo-chan. Who else would I ask? You've been my best friend forever!" she exclaimed.

Eriol could sense a very girlie moment coming on, so he wisely remained silent and out of the way as they hugged each other.

"I promise I'll be the best co-organiser/ maid of honour/ videographer ever!" Tomoyo exclaimed. Eriol had to raise an objection to this.

"Er, Tomoyo dear, how do you propose (A.N. sorry, bad pun!) you're going to video everything when you're busy standing at the front of the church being maid of honour?" he asked. "I'll be the videographer while you're up there," he offered.

Sakura shook her head.

"No! You're going to be up there with me! I'll find something that means you'll have to be up there! You have to stand with me while I get married - you're my friend too!" Sakura exclaimed. Eriol blinked.

"Okay, whatever you say," he agreed meekly.

"I can't believe I get to help organise your wedding! Can I design your wedding dress? Please?" Tomoyo pleaded. Sakura laughed at how such a silly thing could make her best friend so happy.

"Of course you can," she promised.

…

Syaoran pulled up outside the Kinomoto/Daidouji residence - or, rather, the Li/Daidouji residence - the next day and honked his horn loudly. Two women, one of which he recognised as his own darling wife, the other he presumed to be Daidouji-san, come out of the house and walk towards him.

He got out of the car and opened the door for them.

"I'll sit with Tomoyo-chan in the back so she doesn't get lonely," Sakura decided. "If that's okay with you, Syaoran," she added hurriedly.

"Of course it is," Syaoran said, "anything for my koishii nyoubou."

Sakura blushed, then said angrily, "I told you not to call me that!"

Tomoyo, looking amused, said, "I presume this is Li-san?"

Sakura smacked her forehead.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two! Tomoyo-chan, this is Li Syaoran, my… Er… Husband. Syaoran, this is my best friend, Daidouji Tomoyo," she said.

Syaoran and Tomoyo shook hands.

"Sakura-chan told me all about you," Tomoyo said cheerfully.

"Good things, I hope," he replied jokingly. Tomoyo grinned in response.

"Sakura told me all about _you_, too," he said, adopting a grin himself.

"You sound like a very fascinating person. Well done on all the clothes, by the way," he said wolfishly. Tomoyo's grin widened, if that were possible.

"It was a pleasure. Oh, by the way, I hear you're Sakura-chan's husband. Hurt her and I'll kill you," she said simply, still smiling. Syaoran blinked at the abruptness with which she changed topic, and the menacing nature of her words.

"Isn't that what the girl's big brother is supposed to say?" he asked. Tomoyo took great pleasure in saying the next part.

"Oh, she has one of those, too," she said cheerfully, "Touya-kun's about the same height as you, so he wouldn't even feel guilty about killing you."

At the words 'she has one of those, too', all the blood drained from Syaoran's face. He knew that for boyfriends or potential husbands, brothers were bad news. He knew, because he'd done the 'hurt her and I'll kill you' talk to the husbands of his four sisters and Meiling.

"Thanks for the advice," Syaoran said weakly.

"Stop scaring Syaoran, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura scolded as she got into the car. Tomoyo climbed in after her and closed the door, while Syaoran got back into the driving seat and started the car up.

"Okay ladies," he said, "my mother, sisters and Meiling requested that you meet them at this little coffee store place. I'll drop you there; they should be waiting already. Is that okay with you?"

Sakura and Tomoyo shrugged.

"Sure, no problem," they said together.

…

It wasn't hard to spot Syaoran's family as Sakura, Syaoran and Tomoyo pulled up outside the coffee store. The six of them were seated at two tables that had been pulled together outside the store on the sidewalk, and they had left two seats side-by-side for Sakura and Tomoyo.

Syaoran got out and opened the door for his wife and her best friend. He stood awkwardly, seemingly at a loss as to what to do before quickly kissing Sakura's cheek and reminding her that he would come for both herself and Tomoyo later.

Sakura stood for a moment, dazed, and raised a hand to the spot where Syaoran had kissed her. She hadn't really thought about the fact that they'd have to kiss all the time now, so it would look like they were really happy to be married.

However, she realised it must look weird to the six women at the table for her to be blushing and looking confused at the fact that her husband had just kissed her, so she shook her head, pulled herself together and walked with Tomoyo towards the six seated women.

"He's so hot!" Tomoyo muttered happily. "Just like Eriol! Oh, they'd look so good standing together at the front of the church at your wedding!"

Sakura sweatdropped.

"Plus, he's very charming and gentlemanly," Tomoyo continued. Sakura made a face.

"What are you, his fan club?" she asked grumpily.

"I'm just glad that he's not horrible like you said he was," Tomoyo said, a little more seriously, "I was worried he would really be hell to be married to. But I'm a lot more confident now that I've met him. It just wouldn't do for my best friend to marry someone unsuitable."

"Tomoyo-chan," Sakura said quietly, looking a little sad that Tomoyo had liked him so much, "you forget that I'm not _staying _married to him."

Tomoyo's face fell as she remembered.

"Oh," she said quietly, "you're right, I forgot. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Sakura said. "Just don't get too attached to him, okay?"

She smiled beautifully and waved at the six women who had just spotted them and were waving frantically themselves. Sakura and Tomoyo sat down at the table as the introductions got underway.

…

"So, I was thinking that we'll have to have the wedding soon - there is, after all, no point in postponing it," Yelan began. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So, first of all," the elegant older woman continued, "we have to decide where to hold it. Any ideas?"

"I was thinking," Sakura said quietly, and everyone immediately turned to look at her, "of a nice church wedding. There's a gorgeous church just a little way away from here, with _great _stained glass windows, and it's really light and airy inside."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I've seen that church," Meiling said thoughtfully, "and Sakura-san is right - it _would _be perfect."

"We could fill it with Sakura blossoms," Tomoyo began excitedly, "and Nadeshiko flowers and white lilies!"

Sakura made a face.

"No white lilies," she insisted, "they make me think of funerals. But Sakuras and Nadeshikos might be good."

"Or some roses!" Fuutie chipped in.

"What about some _pink _lilies? Or maybe violets?" Fei Mei suggested.

"We could throw Nadeshikos and Sakuras as confetti, too," Shiefa said. Yelan's face lit up.

"Oh, that would be lovely!" she exclaimed.

"What about tulips? Or daffodils? We don't have to go for the traditional lilies and roses, though they might be nice…" Tomoyo said thoughtfully, her finger on her chin.

…

Sakura was stunned by how much work was involved in organising a wedding, although it was quite fun. Two hours after they had arrived, the party of eight had decided upon the locations (the church for the ceremony, the Azumano Hotel for the evening part - the Azumano Hotel was extremely fancy, and Sakura wasn't too certain about it, but she was outvoted seven to one)

The flowers (White roses and pink lilies for the main ones and Sakuras and Nadeshikos for confetti), the cake (plain white icing with pink edging, sugar flowers and the traditional little bride-and-groom figurines, of course) and also figured out what to do for the wedding dress and the tuxes (Yelan knew a good tailor who would do the tuxes for the groom, best man and groomsmen, while Tomoyo would make Sakura's dress).

The guest list was fairly simple - on Sakura's side, there would be her brother, father, Aunt Sonomi, great-grandfather, Eriol, Tomoyo, Yukito, Akizuki Nakuru (Eriol's cousin and a friend of both Tomoyo and Sakura), Takashi Yamazaki, Takashi Chiharu (a bridesmaid), Terada Yoshiyuki, Naoko Yanagisawa (another bridesmaid), Terada Rika (a third bridesmaid), and, of course, Honda Arisa.

However, on Syaoran's side, there were over two hundred that Yelan insisted should attend. But, because money was no object (the Li family, Sakura had discovered, were exceedingly rich) they were all to come.

Sakura was beginning to feel nervous. She was going to be the centre of attention for over two hundred and fifty people. She had hoped they could have a small wedding, but it seemed that was impossible.

…

Syaoran arrived to collect Sakura and Tomoyo four hours after he left them off. Sakura was exhausted as she got into her husband's car, but Tomoyo looked excited.

"This is going to be great!" she exclaimed. Sakura could only smile wearily.

"So, what did you decide on, Dear Wife, Daidouji-san?" Syaoran asked them, smiling as he looked in his mirror to see Sakura slumped on the back seat. By the time Tomoyo had rattled through the list of things they had already decided on, Syaoran rather wished he hadn't asked.

"That sounds lovely," he said at the end. Then he looked concerned.

"Are you okay, Dearest? You haven't yelled at me for calling you affectionate names yet," he said. Sakura yawned in response.

"Weddings are a _tonne _of work," she said. "I'm _totally _beat, and the wedding won't be for another couple of weeks at least. I never realised how tiring it is to pick out flowers and make guest lists."

"That's why," Syaoran said, smiling, "I'm glad I can leave it to you girls."

Sakura shook her head.

"You _do _have to do a few things, though," she said firmly. "Like picking the best man and choosing your tux, for example."

Syaoran waved his hand.

"Easy things, you mean. At least there's no way I can screw those up."

Sakura and Tomoyo exchanged a look.

"Actually…" Tomoyo began nervously. Syaoran sighed.

"Look, ladies, don't worry. You can supervise me at all times if you like, so long as my darling wife is happy with the wedding."

Tomoyo looked completely charmed.

"That's so sweet!" she gushed.

Sakura sighed. It really wasn't much fun when your best friend adored the man you were going to divorce.

…


	23. Telling Touya

_Disclaimer: _CCS is not mine.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Three_

_Telling Touya_

Sakura sank onto her couch when she and Tomoyo arrived home after the wedding planning session. Eriol had left that morning (Sakura had been _extremely _careful to avoid Tomoyo's bedroom the night before), so the house was empty.

"My head hurts," Sakura complained, sighing as she sprawled herself out even more over the surface of the couch.

"Well," Tomoyo said sternly, "this is only the beginning, Sakura-chan. We have lots more stuff to decide, then we have to have the wedding, and then I suppose you two might have to go on a honeymoon. Then, as soon as you come back, you have to move into Syaoran's home."

Sakura groaned.

"Not to mention the fact that my father and brother don't know that I am getting married yet," she pointed out. "In fact, after onii-chan meets Syaoran, maybe there'll be no man left for me to marry!" she said brightly.

"Well, unless you want to marry the _remains _of Li-san," Tomoyo pointed out thoughtfully. The two girls smiled.

"Seriously, though," Sakura said, "I don't understand why people _bother _getting married. It's so much work! I'm beginning to wonder if doing all this for the sake of six months with a man I can't stand is worth the effort."

Tomoyo shrugged.

"There's no point in having second thoughts now," she said simply. "It's too late to back out."

Sakura sighed.

"I know," she replied.

…

Tomoyo, Eriol and Sakura assembled the next day at Tomoyo and Sakura's house. They were there to execute plan 'Telling Touya and Fujitaka'. Eriol had brought along his car, and the idea was to trick Syaoran into getting in the car with them, then driving him to Sakura's father's house then Touya and Yukito's house.

It was a long shot, but Sakura didn't know how else to do it. Besides, it might work better if her husband didn't know what he was in for. Perhaps the 'bewildered' look might convince Touya not to kill him.

It was worth a shot, anyway.

Besides, and more to the point, if they sprung this on Syaoran then he wouldn't have time to formulate any smart-ass remarks for use on Touya. Because, even if Sakura didn't particularly want to marry him, she didn't want to be partly responsible for the poor guy's murder.

…

Everything had, so far, gone according to plan. Syaoran had been happy enough to come with them; even though they just turned up to his house and asked him to get in the car. He had been introduced to Eriol, and the two had really hit it off. They were talking baseball, basketball and general guy-stuff with much enthusiasm, while Sakura worried about her plan, and Tomoyo tried to reassure her that everything would be okay.

A couple of hours later, after stopping a few times (once to get lunch and twice for the bathroom) they arrived in Tomoeda.

…

"This is such a pretty town," Syaoran remarked as he looked out the window. Sakura was so nervous she felt she could vomit. Twice.

"Where first?" Eriol asked.

"T's house," Sakura answered, trying not to give anything away.

Eriol nodded to indicate that he understood. Syaoran, however, looked confused.

"Is this where you wanted to bring me?" he asked. "And who's 'T'?"

Nobody answered for a few seconds until Tomoyo spoke up.

"You'll see in a moment, Li-san," she said calmly.

She wasn't wrong - in few minutes, with Eriol following Sakura's directions, they were parked outside the house Kinomoto Touya shared with Tsukishiro Yukito.

…

Sakura and Tomoyo each took hold of one of Syaoran's arms and steered him up the driveway to the front door.

"I just want to tell you, Syaoran," Sakura said, looking miserable, "that I am really, really sorry about this."

Okay, _now _Syaoran was really worried. Were there bulldogs in this house that she was going to have murder him, so that she wouldn't have to marry him? (A.N. Oh no, Syaoran, there's something much, _much _worse waiting for you in there ) )

Sakura knocked on the door. Syaoran looked panicked.

"Brace yourself," Eriol muttered.

A tall, dark-haired man answered the door. He looked pleased to see Sakura and Tomoyo, but his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of Syaoran.

He blinked his coffee-coloured eyes.

"Well," he said, somewhat pleasantly as a small smile crept onto his face (unfortunately for Syaoran, it was the sort of smile that graces the face of a crocodile just before it devours its prey), "who the hell might you be?"

…

The atmosphere in the Kinomoto-Tsukishiro household was tense, to say the least. The whole party was seated at the kitchen table, nervously sipping at cups of tea. Sakura's hands were shaking so much that her teeth clinked audibly against the china.

"I'm glad to see you look well, Sakura," Touya said. Sakura attempted a smile.

"And you," she said, her voice shaking a little. "Where's Yukito-san?"

"He's out," Touya explained simply.

Sakura could think of nothing to do but say 'oh' at that. Tomoyo saved her by talking to Touya herself.

"How are you, Touya-kun?" she asked, in rather a friendly manner. Almost _too _friendly, actually.

Sakura could have sworn she saw Eriol roll his eyes. She resisted the urge to giggle - Tomoyo-chan had always had a tiny crush on Touya, however hopeless it was. And, of course, Touya had always been happy to indulge her. He absolutely _adored _her, always had, as she reminded him irresistibly of his and Sakura's deceased mother, Nadeshiko.

Touya smiled warmly at her.

"Fine, as always, dearest Tomoyo-chan. And how are you, sweetheart?" he asked. Tomoyo blushed just a little.

Sakura had to work _doubly _hard not to giggle. Tomoyo always swore that now she was grown up, that 'silly crush' she had had on him was well and truly gone. Of course, all it took was for Touya to look at her with those coffee-coloured eyes and call her 'sweetheart', and she went all floaty.

Eriol rolled his eyes again, but he had to smile. He knew it was just a little crush, nothing to worry about. Besides, he could hardly feel threatened by Touya, could he, when the guy lived with another man?

"Oh, I'm good," Tomoyo replied, and Touya's gaze turned to Eriol.

"And how are you, Hiiragizawa-kun?" he asked. He smiled pleasantly. "I hope you've been taking good care of my little Tomoyo-chan."

Eriol nodded, smiling. Syaoran gulped - evidently, Touya had known about Eriol and Tomoyo for a long time, yet he was _still _slightly wary of Eriol.

"Now that we've established that everybody is doing okay," Touya began, "perhaps you could introduce me to this guy." He nodded at Syaoran.

Sakura cleared her throat nervously.

"Touya 'nii-chan," she began, in a sort of pleading voice, "when I tell you what I am about to tell you, _please _give yourself a moment to consider the matter _before _you do anything drastic."

Touya now looked highly suspicious, and he sent Syaoran an accusing look.

"Okay," the older man said grudgingly.

"Well," Sakura said, her voice extremely high-pitched as she wrung her hands nervously, "this is Li Syaoran. He's my fiancé."

Touya did not react to this statement the way Sakura had imagined he would. He did not yell, or attempt to strangle Syaoran. He…

Laughed. Then said, "oh yes, very funny, Sakura. Thought you'd give your big brother a scare, did you?"

Sakura looked as if she could vomit as she shook her head. Touya abruptly stopped laughing.

"I - I'm s-serious, Touya," she said, stammering over the words. "We're getting married in two weeks, and we'd love it if you came."

Touya just sat there, looking stunned. If he had been standing up, he would have sunk into a chair. Unfortunately, he was already sitting down, so he simply shook his head in disbelief.

"Sakura," he finally managed to say, "he _can't _be your fiancé. You've never even _mentioned _him before, until now. How long have you been dating?"

Sakura froze in shock. What could she say? She thought hard, and eventually said, "about three months - I met him just after I last visited you."

She could have winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth. _I met him just after I last saw you_. That was just a little _too _convenient, wasn't it?

"I really love her, Sir," Syaoran finally spoke up, surprising everyone. "I'm a good guy, honestly I am, and I'll take real good care of her."

_'You liar,' _Sakura thought to herself, and tears filled her eyes as she realised what a horrible thing she was doing. She was lying to her own brother, who had fiercely protected her and loved her intensely all her life.

_'What kind of a person am I?' _she wondered, as the first solitary tear rolled down her cheek. Touya, however, seemed to think that she was crying for a different reason.

"Oh, Sakura, don't cry," he said, sounding flustered. He had never been that good with crying people. "I'll give him a chance, I promise I will. Just give me a little while to talk to him."

Sakura nodded and wiped her cheeks.

"I'd like that," she said as she smiled.

…

Touya had taken Syaoran away from the rest of the group so that they could talk alone.

"I can see," Touya began, sighing, "that Sakura really loves you. It's in the way she looks at you. I've never seen that look in her eyes before, but it's the way Eriol and Tomoyo look at each other, and I'm sure it's the way I look at Yukito."

Syaoran decided not to ask who Yukito was. Matters were already complicated enough at present.

"And you love her," Touya said to him as he raked a hand through his brown hair, "it's so obvious. I knew the moment I saw the two of you, together, on my doorstep, that the two of you were in love. The fact that you were getting married, and so soon, was a surprise, but there was no doubt in my mind as to why Sakura had brought you here."

Touya glanced at his little sister, sitting at the table with Tomoyo and Eriol, looking worried, sometimes shaking her head and biting her lip. Tomoyo and Eriol seemed to be attempting to reassure her.

"I hate to see her worried like this," Touya said, sighing, "and she was so understanding when I told her about Yukito and I, so I suppose I'll let you marry her."

Syaoran smiled.

"Thank you," he said to his brother-in-law.

"But," Touya said seriously, "if you harm even one hair on her pretty little head, Tomoyo-chan, Hiiragizawa-kun and I (along with several other people who love Sakura) will murder you. Slowly."

Syaoran gulped.

"Don't worry," the amber-eyed man said, "I love her and I don't want to hurt her."

Surprisingly, the words didn't seem like a lie. He was sure that, when Sakura claimed she loved her husband, her tongue hurt a little from the lie. But, as Syaoran looked back at Sakura, he thought about the fact that she was his _wife_. And that made him feel warm inside, for some reason. Warm, safe and somehow giddy, like he needed to sit down. It was a dizzying cocktail of emotion.

"There!" Touya said, laughing. "When you look at her the look in your eyes goes soft and warm and you give a little sigh, just like that!"

_'I do?' _Syaoran thought, panicking slightly. However, there was no time for panicking as Touya spoke again.

"I really do wish you two the best of luck," Touya said seriously, turning to face the younger man. Syaoran smiled softly.

"I know. Even though you want to guard her jealously like the treasure she is, you're willing to let her go, because it's her time to leave. I admire that," Syaoran said gently.

Touya gave a sad sort of smile.

"It's still hard to see her all grown up and getting married and everything. In my mind she's still my little sister. The little sister who needs protection from her big, mean onii-chan. It's hard to let go, is all."

"I'm not going to take her away from you," Syaoran said, "I know I could never replace you in Sakura's life. You're special to her and you always will be her onii-chan."

"Thanks, Li-kun," Touya said, smiling.

…

"Well," Touya said as he and Syaoran rejoined Sakura, Tomoyo and Eriol, "I have decided…"

Sakura was chewing her lip, Tomoyo was looking desperate and pleading while Eriol was attempting to calm Sakura down.

"…To give these two my full blessing!" Touya exclaimed finally, laughing, and the three seated people leapt up as everyone hugged each other joyfully and whooped.

…

"Well," Syaoran said as he, his wife, her best friend and her best friend's fiancé drove home that evening, "at least your father didn't give me any death threats."

Sakura smiled.

"Yes, 'Tou-san was surprisingly easy-going about it. I mean, I _knew _he was going to be more accepting of it than 'nii-chan -"

Syaoran interrupted at that point with a muttered, "_anyone _would be more easy-going about it than Kinomoto-san."

"- but even _I _was surprised at how well he took the news," Sakura finished.

"It's because he only wants your happiness," Eriol said wisely. "Besides, he probably knew he couldn't stop you - he's had first-hand experience of marriage without blessing, after all. And why cause a family rift over something stupid like a wedding? He's had experience of a family rift too, and he's probably unwilling to cause another one."

"Besides, didn't he say that it was obvious you two are, what was it? Oh yeah - _'deeply in love'_?" said Tomoyo teasingly. Sakura and Syaoran immediately flushed.

"Shut up, Tomoyo-chan / Daidouji-san!" they yelled in unison. Tomoyo laughed.

…


	24. Closer

_Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. But hey, Christmas is coming up and I know what I'm asking for ((winks))_

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Four_

_Closer_

"Actually," Yelan said as she looked over the papers in her file, "I think we're almost done as far as planning the wedding is concerned."

Sakura could have cried with relief. Over the last week, the women had had many debates over silly things such as what food to serve at the reception and the stress was really getting to Sakura.

"I think you're right, Aunt Yelan. How's Sakura's gown coming along, Daidouji-san?" Meiling asked Tomoyo. Tomoyo smiled.

"Surprisingly well. It should be finished by tomorrow, I think," she replied.

"I can't believe our little brother is getting married!" Fei Mei wailed.

"I know!" Fuutie sympathised.

"In less than a week!" Shiefa cried.

"Now, now, girls," Yelan said, trying to calm them down, "I know we're all a little emotional at our little Xiaolang getting married, but we have to stay focused!"

However, there was little conviction in Yelan's words, as her eyes looked misty.

"Oh, Aunt Yelan!" Meiling cried. "Can't we get just a tiny bit emotional?"

"Oh, all right!" the elegant woman exclaimed. Then she, her four daughters, her niece and Tomoyo hugged each other and cried.

When they were through, Tomoyo said, her voice wavering as she wiped her eyes, "I can't believe Sakura-chan is getting married!"

Which started the other women off again as they cried, "our little Sakura!" Then everyone began to hug the bride-to-be and bawl loudly. Sakura had to laugh as she exclaimed, "my in-laws are crazy!", prompting the other women to laugh through their tears.

Over the course of the last week Sakura and Syaoran had tried to do some things together - for example, they had gone to see a movie together. Just small things that ordinary couples did every day. It felt weird to get engaged to someone _then _date them, but they had to learn to get along well and not feel awkward in each other's presence.

They both felt that things were going quite well and tonight they were (gulp) _going out for dinner_, something which they had tried extremely hard to avoid doing. After all, things hadn't exactly gone well the last time they had attempted dinner together.

However, they were willing to try again, which leads us to the sight of Sakura standing in Tomoyo's bedroom, holding a dress up against herself and wailing at her dark-haired best friend who was giving her opinion.

So far, the floor was covered with options that either Sakura or Tomoyo had vetoed and Sakura was becoming desperate.

"Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong with _this _one?" Sakura asked, sounding exasperated.

"You don't have any shoes to go with it!" Tomoyo exclaimed with a roll of her purple eyes.

"Yes I do! The black ones!" Sakura argued. Tomoyo made a face.

"But I hate those shoes!" Tomoyo complained. "They only look good if you're really tanned and you're not at the moment, Sakura-chan! In fact, you're so stressed that you look extra pale!"

Sakura screamed. Really, honestly screamed for a few seconds. Tomoyo didn't even blink - Sakura had been screaming more and more these days, what with the stress of the wedding.

"Oh, I feel better now," the brunette smiled when she was done. "You know, Tomoyo-chan, I don't even _care _what I look like when I see him. I just want to get dressed and I _don't _want us to end up having an argument over something so silly!"

Tomoyo spluttered.

"Sakura-chan, that is _such _a lie! You really care about what you look like in front of him! You must do, or else you wouldn't be standing in a pile of outfits that weren't 'good enough'!"

Sakura groaned and flopped down onto the bed beside Tomoyo, her eyes covered with her hands.

"Okay, so maybe I care a _little_. I mean, the guy always looks so good, you know? He could wear a frigging _potato sack _and _still _look like a god!"

Tomoyo laughed.

"Does somebody have a little crushy-wushy on their fiancé?" she asked teasingly. Sakura blushed.

"Wow," Tomoyo said in sudden realisation, "that sentence is _beyond _weird."

"I don't have a crush on him!" Sakura said angrily. "For one thing, I'm twenty years old. That's too old for _crushes_, for God's sake! I just don't want to look like a tramp beside him. That's all."

"Well," Tomoyo said, grinning, "for the ultimate non-trampiness, you _could _go for this new dress I've been working on?"

Sakura sat bolt upright and removed her hands from her eyes.

"Is that a wise idea? What's the dress like?"

Tomoyo grinned.

"It's the cutest thing! Before you start worrying, it's for our 'Enchanted Evening' range, so it's not slutty or anything. Not," Tomoyo added grumpily, "that anything I've ever dressed you in has been slutty."

Sakura's finger was on her chin as she thought.

"Let me see it," the brunette said finally.

"You look great!" Tomoyo cried delightedly.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked, sounding doubtful. "It's very red."

"Yes, but red is the colour of confidence!" Tomoyo replied.

"It's _also _the colour of those little lights outside _brothels,_" Sakura pointed out under her breath. Tomoyo sighed.

"But this dress is so classy! Plus, the colour really livens up your complexion. It suits you so well, Sakura-chan! You _have _to wear it!" Tomoyo gushed. Sakura looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She was wearing a scarlet, spaghetti-strap dress. The top of the dress looked as if there was too much fabric and so it hung in a draped sort of fashion. (A.N. It's really hard to explain! If I could draw then I'd draw a picture and put it on the net somewhere for you!)

The dress hung straight to about half-way down her legs. The bottom of the dress was cut in a strange manner, as it fell into floaty points at the bottom, rather like icicles (Tomoyo had informed her that that was in fact known as a 'handkerchief' hem). She had Tomoyo's shoes (a red, strappy pair of high-heeled sandals) on her feet and there was a furry red wrap for her arms.

"It _is _quite pretty," Sakura said slowly.

"Of course it is!" Tomoyo said brightly. "It'll look even better when I do your hair and make-up."

Sakura sighed.

"Alright then. You win, Tomoyo-chan."

Sakura had to admit that she actually looked quite pretty when Tomoyo was done. Sakura's hair fell in ringlets around her face and she was wearing a necklace that was a chain of little red roses.

"Thank you, Tomoyo-chan," she said gratefully. Tomoyo looked pleased.

"No problem! I _told _you to trust me!"

Syaoran arrived not long after to pick Sakura up. Tomoyo answered the door to him and smiled appreciatively when she saw him.

"Well, don't we look nice tonight?" she asked, smiling. Syaoran blushed.

"Sakura-chan is a very lucky..." she began, but she was interrupted.

"Tomoyo! I can _hear _you!" Eriol shouted, laughing. Tomoyo pouted.

"I'm only playing, sweetheart!" she called back.

Then to Syaoran she said, "come on in and sit down. Sakura-chan will only be a second."

Syaoran was happily talking to Eriol when Sakura walked in.

"Well, shall we go?" Sakura asked. Syaoran stood up immediately.

"Sakura! You look..." he began, but Tomoyo interrupted.

"Amazing? Yeah, she knows. Now, go on! Hurry up, or you'll be late!" she said as she got up and pushed them towards the door.

When the dark-haired girl rejoined her fiancé after shoving the protesting couple out the door, they exchanged knowing looks.

_'This really isn't so bad,' Sakura thought as she took a mouthful of her dinner. She had worried that they wouldn't have anything to say to each other, but really they were finding it quite easy to converse. So far the things they had done together hadn't really required them to talk a lot - for example, they'd gone to see two movies._

Much to Sakura's unease, she was really enjoying herself. Syaoran was actually really witty and kept making her laugh. What made Sakura even _more _uneasy was that, when she talked, he appeared to listen. But what made Sakura uneasiest of all was that she was starting to think of him as a guy she was dating (and an extremely handsome one at that) rather than the guy she hated and happened to be engaged to due to a horrible drunken mistake.

Syaoran was enjoying himself immensely. Well, for one thing, Sakura was beautiful. But then again, he met lots of beautiful girls all the time. The thing about Sakura was that she was beautiful, smart, funny and sweet all in one.

She scared him, too, though. She scared him because now he wasn't dreading getting re-married to her anymore.

"I had fun tonight," Syaoran said as he stood at the gate to Sakura's house. Sakura smiled.

"Me too. I was surprised!" she said, laughing. Then they stood there, silent, not knowing what to do next.

_'Well, this is the first time I?ve felt awkward tonight,' Sakura thought._

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said, and raised herself up onto her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

"Oh, she kissed him!" Tomoyo cried happily from her position watching the two from the window. Eriol was beside her.

Then Sakura smiled and turned to walk away. Syaoran stood for a second, apparently stunned. Then he said, "Sakura!"

She stopped and turned around.

"What?" she asked. Syaoran strode up to her and pressed his mouth to hers in one swift stroke.

Inside the house, Tomoyo gasped.

"Oh my God!" she squealed. Eriol laughed.

"Well, I didn't expect that!"

Sakura froze, but the warmth of Syaoran's arms around her melted her. His lips gently coaxed her mouth open and she sighed into his mouth, sending shivers through Syaoran. Her hands somehow made their way to his hair.

Her heart beat faster and she felt dizzy and she couldn?t breathe and she was sure she was melting and she couldn't feel her feet and she was tingling all over and her blood was roaring in her ears but the first soft flutters of his tongue against hers felt so _good _that it didn't matter...

"I guess," Sakura said wryly when they finally stopped to breathe, "that we needed to practise kissing like real fiancés, huh?" Syaoran grinned.

Sakura's lips were attractively swollen and her face was flushed and he had the greatest urge to... He bit his lip and tried not to think about the fact that he wanted to grab her and kiss her until both of them physically hurt.

"Well, yeah, that too," he said with a wicked smile. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Good night, Syaoran," she said, smiling as she walked away.

When she was gone, Syaoran got into his car and banged his head off the dashboard.

When Sakura got into the house she went straight up into her bedroom and banged her head on her bedroom door.

Tomoyo, understandably, was worried.

"Sakura-chan," she called up, "did everything go okay?"

"Oh yes, just peachy! Well, except for the fact that he kissed me and it was absolutely _amazing _and I loved it and now I'm not going to be able to _look _at him without wanting him to... To..."

"Grab you and kiss you senseless?" Tomoyo supplied cheerfully.

"Yes!" Sakura wailed.

"So you grab _him _and kiss _him _senseless!" Eriol suggested cheerfully as he joined Tomoyo and Sakura in their shouted conversation. There was no answer for a few seconds.

Then Sakura yelled, "Eriol-kun! You're not helping! Tomoyo-chan has rubbed off on you!"

"Hey!" Tomoyo shouted. "You say that like it's a bad thing!"


	25. And Closer Still

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS.

"We're getting married tomorrow," Sakura said into the phone.

"I know that, Sweetheart," Syaoran replied on the other end, "and I'm thrilled about it, but why did you have to call me about this at two A.M.?"

"I'm freaking out," she said. Previously, Syaoran had sounded sleepy but now he sounded firm and definitely awake.

"Now, don't you panic," he instructed, "it's your wedding day tomorrow. You want to look nice and fresh, don't you? So you need your beauty sleep. Try not to worry and please try to get some sleep!"

Sakura sighed.

"I know you're right. Thanks for not panicking, Li – I mean, Syaoran. I'll see you tomorrow," she said, and she hung up the phone after Syaoran said goodbye.

Sakura lay down and snuggled into her comforter. She forced herself to think of happier things than her impending wedding, and so she fell asleep while watching a happy memory of herself, Touya and Tomoyo at the park.

On the other hand, Syaoran had lain in his bed with his eyes wide open since Sakura's phone call.

"Oh my God," he muttered to the darkness around him, "I'm getting married tomorrow!"

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Five_

_And Closer Still_

Sakura and Syaoran stood at the front of the church. The air was thick with the scent of the flowers. Everyone was watching Sakura with bated breath as the minister asked the most important question – 'And do you take this man as your lawfully-wedded husband?'

Syaoran smiled at his wife-to-be in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. He'd already answered in the affirmative. All she had to do was say the same thing, and then they were done. However, she looked distinctly troubled as she glanced, for some reason, at Daidouji-san. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"She's hesitating!" Yelan muttered to Wei in the congregation. "Why is she hesitating?"

Wei could only look worried.

"I… don't," she answered finally, smiling sadly. "I can't…"

Syaoran woke up, sweating, and willed himself not to vomit. He swallowed hard and, getting out of bed, headed downstairs to get a drink of water.

…

Sakura was standing outside the doors to the main part of the church.

"Here we go, everyone!" Yelan said cheerily to the large party that was about to walk up the aisle. "Good luck!" she said as she opened the doors. Sakura took a deep breath and looked at her father, who was holding onto her arm.

"I love you and I'm proud of you, Sakura," her father said with a reassuring smile. Sakura smiled back, feeling a lot calmer.

The wedding procession began to walk up the aisle as Yelan sneaked into her seat in the congregation.

'Okay,' Sakura thought to herself as she walked, 'concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Look, there's Syaoran up there, waiting for you! Oh, doesn't he look handsome… Don't think about that, or you'll lose concentration! Don't forget to smile. Look confident! Don't walk too fast…'

She felt she was doing rather well to remember all the things Yelan had told her. Until, of course, she stood on the train of her dress and it ripped right the way up, exposing her underwear…

Sakura awoke, gasping.

'Oh,' she thought, feeling relieved, 'thank God, it was only a dream…'

She looked at the phone on her nightstand and bit her lip. She shouldn't call Syaoran again, as it was still quite early, and she could go talk to Tomoyo anyway. But it was just more reassuring to talk to Syaoran, as it was the two of them who were getting married.

So, feeling more than a little guilty, she picked up the receiver and dialled Syaoran's number. He picked up after the first ring, which surprised Sakura somewhat – she had expected that her call would wake him up, and so was prepared to have to wait for several rings to go unanswered.

"Syaoran?" she asked when someone picked up and said 'hello.' She felt stupid for saying it like it was a question when it couldn't possibly be anyone but her fiancé.

"The one and only," he answered, "and just what is wrong with the darling blushing bride now?"

"I'm freaking out again," Sakura admitted. There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"Me too," Syaoran said as he shoved his hand through his hair and sat down on his bed.

"Wanna tell me about it?" Sakura asked. Syaoran shook his head, then remembered that she couldn't see him, and so said, "not really. I had a weird dream, which, if I told you about, might give you ideas."

Sakura blinked.

"I had a weird dream, too, but it doesn't sound as weird as yours does," she said. Then she sighed.

"Are we doing the right thing?" Syaoran asked suddenly, impulsively.

"I was wondering the same thing," Sakura said softly as she, too, sat down on her bed.

"You know," Syaoran said in an attempt at cheerfulness, "I bet everything will turn out fine. Besides, I know you'll have fun tomorrow – you get to have a wedding, and I know that all little girls want to have a wedding."

Sakura swallowed.

"You're right – all little girls want to have a wedding. We all want to get dolled up, and wear a pretty dress. We all want to meet a handsome groom at the front of the church. But after the wedding, we want a marriage. We want to live with our husband, and love him. Be loved by him. Have children with him," she realised she was crying, and she immediately felt silly.

"Sakura, are you crying?" Syaoran asked suddenly.

"N-no, o-of c-course n-not," Sakura answered, her tears making her stutter. There was a click on the other end of the line.

"Syaoran?" she asked, but there was no answer. Sakura hung up the phone, weeping harder as she did so. Then she curled up into a ball on her bed, weeping and weeping as the awfulness of the situation hit her over and over. She wept so hard she wondered if she'd ever stop.

…

There was a knock at the front door of the house ten minutes later. Sakura wondered if it might be Eriol for Tomoyo, then realised that it was five in the morning, so that was probably unlikely.

She sighed, thought about the fact that her eyes were probably red and swollen, decided that she didn't care, and whoever was at the door would just have to deal with her horrid appearance, before going down the stairs to answer the door before the person woke Tomoyo up.

She opened the door; fully ready to yell at the person on her doorstep, when she realised who it was… And promptly threw herself at him, hugging him tightly.

"You silly man!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe you came over here just because I was being stupid!" Why couldn't she just make her mouth say 'thank you', like she wanted it to?

Clearly, though, Syaoran caught what she was trying to say, as he said, "you're welcome!" as he ruffled her hair.

…

Somehow, Syaoran had managed to manoeuvre Sakura onto her couch. Quite a feat when Sakura clung desperately to his waist and refused to let go. Currently he was stroking her hair as she cried.

"And I know that this is what we should do, you know?" she was saying, her voice wavering all over the place as she cried. "I mean, I can see the kids' faces and I just think that I couldn't ever hurt them. It's not like I don't know why I'm doing this. I just…"

And she broke off, either not knowing how to finish her sentence or just physically unable. Syaoran made what he hoped were reassuring noises as he continued to awkwardly stroke her hair. He knew he was blushing, but he couldn't help it. He just kept thinking about that kiss the other night…

"Everything will be okay," he said softly, firmly pushing those thoughts to the side. Sakura lifted her head from its previous position buried in his chest and looked accusingly at him.

"How do you know that?" she demanded.

"Look, you want to get married for love, don't you?" he asked her gently. She nodded.

"Well, there'll still be plenty of time for that," he said, "we're only twenty, and we're only staying married for six months. You'll have the rest of your life to fall in love and get married after that. For now, just concentrate on doing what you have to do. I _promise _you that everything will be okay."

Sakura smiled and buried her head in Syaoran's chest again. He smelled… Warm, somehow, even though it wasn't really possible to smell 'warm'.

"How come," she whispered, "you knew what I needed to hear?"

Syaoran smiled.

…

Tomoyo was quite… _surprised_, let's say… to see her best friend curled up on the sofa, sound asleep, with her fiancé a few hours later.

_'At least,' _she observed dryly, _'they've both got all their clothes on.'_

She contemplated waking them, then decided that they were really too adorable for words, so she made a compromise with herself. She would take a photo of them asleep, make some breakfast for all three of them and _then _wake them.

…

Tomoyo mused upon the fact that they really were adorable as she looked at the Polaroid shot she had taken. Eggs were cooking in one pan on the stove, while pancakes were doing in another, filling the kitchen with delicious smells.

…

Syaoran opened his eyes slowly and frowned when he realised he was most definitely _not _in his room. In fact, he seemed to be lying on a couch in someone else's house…

Then last night's events surfaced in his mind and he was no longer confused. He shifted experimentally and heard a soft groan from the warm weight in his arms. He blinked at the back of Sakura's honey-coloured head. How did they end up falling asleep together?

He moved his hand experimentally and immediately wished he hadn't - it seemed Sakura's pajama top had ridden up in the night and the palm of his hand brushed against the soft skin of her stomach. He blushed and tugged her top down for her, but didn't move his hands from her waist.

He lay awake for a few seconds, listening to her breathe. He felt warmer than he had for a long time.

…

Sakura's eyes fluttered open slowly. She yawned and the movement caused her to notice the warm chest at her back and the arms wrapped around her waist. Someone was breathing slowly and peacefully near her ear, tickling the skin and ruffling her hair.

Despite herself, she felt a slow smile creep over her face. Carefully she turned to face her fiancé and snuggled into his chest, even though she felt she should probably get up and wake him, too. She closed her eyes, but opened them in shock when she felt the arms around her waist tighten.

She looked up to see Syaoran smiling sleepily down at her. She blushed immediately in embarrassment - he'd just caught her snuggling up to him! However, Syaoran didn't say anything, just pulled her more tightly to him and dropped his head to her hair, placing a gentle kiss there before closing his eyes and falling asleep again.

Sakura could feel her own eyelids getting heavy again - the two of them had, after all, not exactly had the most restful, sleep-filled night. In fact, the only decent sleep Sakura had got was the three hours she had lain with Syaoran - but she fought it as hard as she could.

"Syaoran," she whispered. She got a grunt in reply.

"We have to get up," she said quietly. Syaoran shook his head sleepily.

"Absolutely not," he murmured, his voice slow and heavy with sleep, "you're not going anywhere. How come you're so damn soft? And warm…"

Sakura blushed. He was half-asleep, was he aware of what he had just said?

"Syaoran, come on," she attempted again.

"Five minutes…" he muttered. Sakura sighed and gave in to the irresistible pull of sleep.

…

In the kitchen, Tomoyo was growing restless. She had been hopeful that they would be able to wake themselves without any intervention on her part, but they were taking so long and she was bored by herself! Sighing, she got up from her chair and walked into the living room.

The sight that greeted her made her raise her eyebrows. She coughed delicately, and the two of them jumped awake. They looked at her and blushed. Tomoyo wriggled her eyebrows in a suggestive fashion.

"Could you two _get _any closer together?" she asked. Immediately Sakura leapt up, away from Syaoran.

"It's not what it looks like!" she yelped.

Syaoran grinned at Tomoyo from behind Tomoyo and said, "no, Daidouji-san, it's _exactly _what it looks like!"

Sakura whirled around to face him.

"Syaoran!" she yelped. Syaoran held up his hands in the universal gesture for surrender.

"I was just kidding!" he said.

…

A few moments later, the three of them were seated in the kitchen.

"Sleep well?" Tomoyo asked wickedly.

"_Considerably _better than usual," Syaoran said with a grin. Sakura turned scarlet.

"Coffee, either of you?" Tomoyo asked Sakura and Syaoran. Both nodded.

"How do you like yours, Li-san?" she asked Syaoran. She already knew how Sakura took her coffee.

"Black, please," he answered. Both Tomoyo and Sakura made a face.

"Yuck!" Tomoyo exclaimed. "Really? You sure you don't want _anything_ in it?" Syaoran nodded, fighting the urge to laugh as Sakura and Tomoyo continued to look completely and utterly disgusted.

"I need sugar and milk in my coffee and tea," Sakura said as she sat down at the table, "otherwise it's too… Harsh, or something."

"Well," Syaoran said cheerfully, "I don't need any sugar in my coffee, because I'm so sweet already!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and smacked him gently upside the head.

"Ow!" he muttered grumpily. Tomoyo and Sakura laughed, but then Tomoyo's eyes turned sad.

"Tomoyo-chan? Daijoubu?" Sakura asked anxiously. Tomoyo shook her head and smiled as she placed two mugs of coffee in front of Sakura and Syaoran.

"It's nothing. You just… Reminded me of Chiharu-chan, that's all. I miss all our old friends so much, you know?"

Sakura nodded.

"But," said Tomoyo, suddenly brightening, "I guess that's one of the great things about you two getting married! Everybody's flying over for it!"

Syaoran choked on his mouthful of coffee, making his eyes water.

"Syaoran? Daijoubu?" Sakura asked a person if they were okay for the second time in two minutes, and it unnerved her slightly. She was the bride, wasn't _she _the one who was supposed to be choking on things and freaking out?

Then, of course, that made her think, _'oh my God, I'm going to be a bride later today!'_

"I'd forgotten all about us getting married today!" Syaoran exclaimed.

"Me too!" Sakura wailed. Tomoyo could sense a total freak-out about to occur, so she wisely stepped in.

"Well, now that everyone's remembered that today is pretty important, I have this to say - Li-san, honey, I love you but you gotta leave," Tomoyo said frankly.

Syaoran nodded.

"Okay, but call me Syaoran," he said. Tomoyo grinned.

"So, Syaoran-san, head home and get dressed. Yelan-san phoned a while ago to say that she'd send your brothers-in-law and your best friend over to help you. Eriol will be over soon, too, as I spoke to him and told him to go to your house."

Syaoran nodded, then paused.

"But, hold on a second, what am I gonna get dressed in? I don't have my tux!" Tomoyo laughed.

"Oh, yeah, one of your brothers-in-law has it. Now get going!" she said as she herded him towards the door.

Then she stopped, looking distraught.

"Your breakfast!" she wailed. Syaoran looked at his watch.

"I don't have time for breakfast! We're running late!" he exclaimed.

Tomoyo looked confused.

"No, we're not. We should be nicely on time," she said. Syaoran shook his head and shoved his watch in her face.

"See?" he asked. Tomoyo's face paled.

"Oh shit!" she exclaimed, then looked at her own watch. "My watch must have stopped or something! We're running really late! Shit shit shit! You haven't had your breakfast! Quadruple shit - you'll need the energy!"

Sakura blinked. She didn't think she'd ever heard her normally calm and mild-mannered best friend use so many cuss words in one sentence before.

"Tomoyo-chan, don't you think you're overreacting?" she asked timidly, but Tomoyo didn't seem to hear.

"Daidouji-san - (Tomoyo immediately corrected him to 'Tomoyo-san') - I have an idea. I'll take a couple of pancakes with me and eat them in the car, okay?" Sakura could have kissed Syaoran for coming up with such an ingenious solution.

Tomoyo nodded and fired four pancakes onto a plate, which she handed to him as they ran towards the door. Sakura had to laugh as she hurried after them and Tomoyo barked instructions at the poor man.

"Eat all of them, but not yet! They're too _hot_! And make sure you don't crash while you're eating them! In fact, don't eat them until you get home! Okay? See you later!"

Syaoran nodded frantically at her, called a 'goodbye' to Sakura and hopped into his car.

Sakura and Tomoyo stood in their doorway and waved at him. Then Syaoran got back out of his car and ran back up to the house, muttering, "I forgot my coat!"

Finally, he managed to get away, and Sakura and Tomoyo stood, still, in the doorway. Tomoyo turned to Sakura and smiled.

"Ready to get married?" the raven-haired girl asked her best friend. Sakura smiled.

"If the rest of today is like this morning then I'm not sure I'll have the energy!"

…


	26. Disaster Central

**Metajoker: As I still, despite my best efforts, cannot locate your reviews, I will reply to the comment that stuck in my head the most. As to the wedding - I'm having a regular old western-style wedding. Sorry, but I don't have the knowledge to write anything else and I am so pushed for time at the moment that I don't have time to research the matter. I apologise if this disappoints anyone.**

_Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. Concept of the wrong cake borrowed, again, from Friends._

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Six _

_Disaster Central_

Syaoran, Tomoyo would have been glad to know, was true to his word and did indeed eat his pancakes when he arrived at his house. He was very glad of this, as they were rather delicious pancakes, but he also regretted his actions, as he now had something in his stomach with which to throw up.

Thankfully, he hadn't become quite _that _panicked yet.

However, Syaoran supposed that, as this was, after all, a Li wedding, that it was only a matter of time.

He pulled up to his house and was promptly leapt upon by his best friend, his four brothers-in-law, Meiling's husband and Eriol.

"Do you realise how late you are?" his best friend, Lei, demanded.

"I know, and I'm sorry! There were a few crises and I (understandably) got a little sidetracked," Syaoran explained as the six other men pulled him into the house.

"Oh, well, you're here now, I suppose. Let the wedding madness begin!" Eriol said with a grin.

"God, help me," Syaoran muttered. One of his brothers-in-law, Hideki, grinned.

"It's a bit late for that, Syaoran-kun," he said, "you should have thought about this when you married her."

…

Sakura was alternating between sitting and fidgeting (this included biting her nails and tapping the ground with her foot) and sitting staring into space for minutes at a time.

Tomoyo supposed that Sakura's nerves were really kicking in big time, so she left her best friend to it while she ran around calling people. Tomoyo was such a good organiser that everyone who was required was present at the Li-Daidouji household within half an hour.

…

Sakura, Meiling, Yelan, Fuutie, Fei Mei, Shiefa, Fan Ren, Fan Ren's children, seven-year-old Tohru and five-year-old Kotarou, Fei Mei's daughter, ten-year-old Rina, Meiling's son, six-month-old Sasuke, Fuutie's identical twin girls, four-year-olds Riku and Alice and Shiefa's son, nine-year-old Minoru, were all squashed into Sakura's bedroom, waiting for Tomoyo's grand unveiling of the bride and bridesmaids' dresses.

(AN. Oh my God, that is THE most confusing sentence EVER! It was confusing for me to write it, so God knows how confused you all are reading it, but please bear with me : -))

"My apologies again, Sakura-chan, for bringing him with me, but it really _is _impossible to get a babysitter at eight A.M., and everyone in the family is busy getting ready for the wedding," Meiling apologised. The other women apologised for the presence of their offspring too.

Sakura beamed and shook her head.

"No, really, this is absolutely lovely," she said as she smiled at baby Sasuke who was sitting happily on her lap.

"I really wouldn't rather have it any other way," she said, and the sincerity in her words lit up her face. Ten-year-old Rina smiled shyly.

"You really mean that, Aunt Sakura?" she asked.

Hearts burst into Sakura's eyes and she hugged Rina.

"You are _so _adorable!" she gushed. "I love you so much! Yes, of course I mean it!"

Rina blushed.

"I'm glad we're not a bother," she said softly as she hugged her aunt back.

"Wow, Sakura-chan," Fei Mei remarked, "you really are a natural with kids."

Sakura smiled.

"Well, I've always loved them," she said.

"You really will make a fantastic mother for my grandchildren!" Yelan chipped in brightly. This time Sakura's smile was a little more forced.

"And won't she and Syaoran-san have such _attractive_ kids?" Tomoyo grinned from the doorway. Sakura blushed immediately.

"Tomoyo-chan!" she scolded. Then, all the females in the room over six realised what she was holding and immediately fell upon the plastic-wrapped garments with much exclamation.

"Mother," Minoru yelled above the racket to Shiefa, "how about I take the younger ones downstairs and out of your hair? I'll play a game with them or something!"

Everyone in the room paused in their frantic unwrapping to exclaim about how adorable and helpful this was of him, and Minoru blushed.

"Yes, Minoru-kun, darling, that would be great," Shiefa said, "just leave Sasuke-chan here. Oh, and Tohru and Rina will probably want to stay, too."

The two older girls nodded their heads. Minoru collected up the twins and Kotarou and the four of them headed off downstairs.

…

"You look so _pretty_, Auntie Saku!" Tohru exclaimed when her new aunt put on her bridal gown.

Everyone else nodded silently, not knowing what to say. Sakura smiled nervously and whirled around to face the full-length mirror. She gasped when she saw her reflection.

"Tomoyo-chan," she whispered, "is that really me?"

There were tears in Tomoyo's eyes.

"You look radiant, Sakura-chan," she said softly.

"Thank you so much, Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura exclaimed, and, with her vision blurring, she moved forward and hugged her best friend. The other women struggled against the lumps in their throats at the two friends' obvious love for each other.

"To Sakura-san," Yelan said tearfully, "a definite vision of loveliness."

"And," said Fan Ren, "to Tomoyo-chan, for creating these beautiful dresses!"

"Hear hear!" everyone cried, except for Tohru and Rina.

"Now," Yelan said, "will somebody _please _get me a tissue?"

…

"Hey, you look pretty good!" Lei remarked to the groom. Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to sound so surprised!" he said. Lei grinned.

"You know what? I actually think that we're pretty much done," Eriol remarked as he brushed invisible dirt off Syaoran's shoulder.

"Well, it wasn't like we had much to do," Fei Mei's husband Daisuke pointed out. "Just get dressed and get to the church on time."

…

Sakura couldn't resist peeking in the mirror again. The dress Tomoyo had created was stunning - it was simple enough to satisfy Sakura's tastes, yet it was extremely elegant. The dress was white, with a long a-line skirt falling from an empire waist that was tied with a cream satin ribbon.

The top of the dress was simply cut across in a sleeveless design and Tomoyo had made a sheer, glittering white wrap for her shoulders that had white vines embroidered on it. The white skirt had green vines embroidered on it (this was the part Sakura liked best), that rose in a tangled line right up from the bottom of the skirt to the very top where the dress met the skin of her chest.

Cherry blossoms and Nadeshikos bloomed occasionally along the vines (Tomoyo had said that she just couldn't resist, and besides, now her dress would match her confetti!). Tomoyo had made a pair of simple, white ballet pumps with white ties right up to her knees for her feet (Sakura had opted not to wear high heels after the 'underwear' nightmare).

Tomoyo had grabbed her for her hair and makeup (A.N. I know that a bride will often go to a beauty parlour for this, but Sakura lives with _Tomoyo_, for God's sake! : -)) and Sakura's hair fell in ringlets (A.N. Can you tell I like ringlets on Sakura? : -)) around her face.

A simple silver tiara (with a live cherry blossom tucked into it for good luck, or so Tomoyo said) was used to hold her veil in place and her makeup was very simple and natural.

She was wearing a simple, platinum, heart-shaped locket that the women of the Li family had presented her with. She said she couldn't possibly accept something so beautiful and valuable, but they had all insisted. It was to 'welcome her into their family'.

"Are the bridesmaids nearly ready yet?" Sakura called in jokingly.

"I'm not getting any younger here, and I'm dying to see what Tomoyo-chan's bridesmaids' dresses are like!"

Then, in a line led by Tomoyo, Sakura's eight (A.N. yes, eight. Perhaps a little extreme, but Sakura's such a kind person, she didn't want to leave anyone

out : -)Besides, Syaoran was best man to all of his sisters, so it would be unfair if they didn't get to be his bridesmaids. And how could Sakura say no to all the little kids?) bridesmaids and flower-girls emerged.

"Wow, you guys look amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, clapping her hands together in sheer delight. Tomoyo, Meiling, Fan Ren, Shiefa, Fuutie and Fei Mei smiled. Their bridesmaids' dresses were scarlet, with an a-line skirt like Sakura's, but the top of the dress was in a basque style. (A.N. If you're not sure what this is, picture a corset-style thing without the laces - it's like a corset, only completely smooth. Oh, and an empire waist is when the dress starts to flow out just below the bust, so the cream ribbon on Sakura's dress is tied just below the bust)

The dresses had gold detail on them, in the form of embroidered roses, and on their feet were ballet pumps, similar to Sakura's except in gold and without the ties to the knees. They were wearing gold tiaras on their heads and matching gold lockets, similar to Sakura's, around their necks.

Seven-year-old Tohru and the four-year-old twins, Alice and Riku, were flower-girls, in charge of throwing confetti down the aisle (which they had practised enthusiastically at the rehearsal) and they were dressed in adorable lavender-coloured dresses - all matching. Their dresses had gold thread shot through them in order to link them with the bridesmaids' dresses, and their design was quite simple.

There was a straight, a-line skirt like all the other dresses, (but it only reached just below their knees, to try to avoid any tripping) which met a sleeveless top with a high neck, which was white with lavender-coloured flowers. The straps over the shoulders were thick, and they wore lavender-coloured versions of the bridesmaids' shoes.

Tomoyo had, however, run into difficulties as to what to dress ten-year-old Rina in. As she was so tall and grown-up looking for her age, she would have looked simply absurd in one of the lavender dresses. However, she would have looked equally absurd in one of the scarlet bridesmaids' dresses.

So, Tomoyo had eventually opted for a 'junior bridesmaid' dress on Rina, which was a shimmering dress done in the lightest shade of pink possible. It had an a-line skirt like all the others, and it reached to Rina's ankles, like the bridemaids' and brides' dresses. The shoulder straps of the dress consisted of embroidered cherry blossoms linked together, and the top of her dress was cut straight across, like Sakura's.

She was wearing light pink versions of the bridesmaids' pumps on her feet.

"You really all do look great," Sakura said again. Then she stopped for a second.

"Oh my God, Tomoyo-chan, I've just remembered something," she said, a hand over her mouth in horror.

"What, what is it?" Tomoyo asked, sounding worried.

"I'm supposed to have eleven bridesmaids…" Sakura said. Tomoyo gasped.

"Oh my God! Where the hell are Chiharu, Naoko and Rika?"

"Not to mention everyone else, like my father and your mother and my brother!" Sakura wailed.

…

"Where the hell is our plane?" Chiharu demanded.

"Well _I _don't know, do I?" Yamazaki yelled.

"We're supposed to be at Sakura-chan's wedding in three hours! The flight takes an hour and a half! It's an hour late! This is so _horrible_!" she wailed.

Yamazaki, of course, did the sensible thing and whipped out his cellphone, dialling the number that Sakura had given them.

…

When Sakura heard the phone ring, she dived on it.

"Hello? Oh my God, _please _tell me it's Rika or Chiharu or Naoko or someone!" Sakura gabbled.

On the other end, Yamazaki laughed.

"Well, you were close," he said. Sakura's face lit up.

"Yamazaki-kun? It's so great to talk to you! You have no idea how excited I am about seeing you all!" Sakura exclaimed. Yamazaki sweatdropped.

"Uh, yeah, me too," Yamazaki said. "Anyway, Sakura-chan, this is about something a little more important."

Immediately, Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Oh yes, might this, by any chance, have something to do with the fact that YOU'RE NOT HERE YET?" Sakura asked in a menacing voice. On the other end, Yamazaki cowered and held the phone away from his ear.

Because, don't get him wrong, he loved Sakura, but _damn_, was she scary when she was angry!

"Our flight's late," Yamazaki explained. "Chiharu is going crazy worrying about the fact that we're late, and we really _are _sorry."

Sakura immediately felt bad.

"No, _I'm _sorry for yelling," she said.

"Hey, don't worry about it!" Yamazaki said. "You're the _bride_, you're allowed to freak out! Do you remember Chiharu at our wedding?"

Sakura shuddered at the memory of being bridesmaid to a thoroughly panicking Chiharu.

"Good point," she said to Yamazaki.

"Listen, Sakura-chan, we'll be there as soon as possible, okay? Don't worry - I swear we'll make it. We just have to!" Yamazaki promised her. Sakura smiled.

"Thank you, Yamazaki-kun. I know you'll make it," she said softly.

"I hope everything goes okay until we get there," Yamazaki said.

"Me too!" Sakura said.

"I'll have to go, Sakura-chan. Chiharu's back from the bathroom," Yamazaki said, and he hung up.

Sakura sighed and replaced the handset of the phone to the cradle. Then the doorbell rang. Sakura sighed again - clearly there wasn't going to be a moment of peace this morning.

"I'll get it!" Tomoyo called as she dashed to answer the door, careful not to trip on her dress. She opened the door, and smiled at the deliveryman on the doorstep.

"Hello," she said, and the man blinked.

"Well, Ma'am, you're definitely the best-dressed person I've ever delivered a cake to!" he said. Tomoyo's smile became a grin.

"Thanks."

"Anyway," said the delivery man, when he finally managed to stop gaping at Tomoyo, "I guess you're all wearing wedding dresses for the hen-night, huh?"

Tomoyo was confused.

"I beg your pardon?" she said. Now the deliveryman looked confused.

"The hen night that this cake is for! You _are_ Mrs Li Sakura, aren't you?" he asked.

Tomoyo nodded. She had placed the cake order in Sakura's name, so that was right, but what was he talking about a hen night for?

He opened the cake box and immediately, Tomoyo understood. Inside there was a cake with a picture of a bride dressed like a hooker and a large hen done on the icing, with 'one last wild girls' night out before the 'I do'!' written on it in piped red icing.

Tomoyo sweatdropped. She was in such a daze that she simply signed for the cake and said goodbye to the deliveryman. After she closed the door on him, she stood in the hall and opened the box quickly, taking a little peek at the cake.

Nope, it was still as inappropriate as it had been a second ago.

Tomoyo felt like crying. How much worse could this day get?

…

Meanwhile, Sakura was calling various people to check up on where they were. So far, she knew that Touya and Yuki had picked up Fujitaka (and, much to Touya's despair, Nakuru) and the four of them were on their way to Sakura and Tomoyo's house. Also, a check on Sonomi had revealed that she was on her way also, but the traffic was _hell_.

Honda Arisa and her boyfriend's plane had just landed at the airport and they were in a taxi on their way to Sakura's house too. Sakura still didn't know where Terada-sensei, Rika-chan and Naoko-chan were, and there had been no further word from Chiharu and Yamazaki.

Just then, Tomoyo walked in to the living room where Sakura was, looking so miserable that Sakura immediately feared the worst.

"Tomoyo-chan, what's wrong?" Sakura asked warily. Wordlessly, Tomoyo handed the cake box to Sakura.

"Oh, was the person at the door delivering the cake?" Sakura asked. Then she paused.

"Hold on, that's not right. Our cake is _huge _- the delivery person was supposed to stop here to get directions to the reception, then leave it there. It's too big to fit into a box - it has to feed over three-hundred people!" Sakura laughed, talking fast in her nervousness.

She froze when she realised what was wrong.

"This is the wrong cake, isn't it?" she asked as she opened the box. Her face paled.

"Oh. No. Tomoyo-chan, please tell me this is a nightmare," she said, looking up at her best friend.

"No, not a nightmare, Sakura-chan. Well, it is a nightmare, but it really is happening," she said.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked, not for the first time that day.

…

There had been a mass conference called together of all the women in Sakura's house to decide what to do about the cake fiasco.

"We could take this one back to the bakery that made it," Fei Mei suggested. Sakura shook her head.

"That wouldn't do any good. The bakery is so far away and Sonomi-san said that the traffic's hell at the moment. Besides, there's no way that they could make us another in time for the wedding," Sakura said, sounding miserable.

"But it's their fault," Shiefa said angrily. "Surely you've just got someone else's cake by mistake, so your cake is either still in the bakery or they've delivered it to the wrong person."

"But even if that _is _the case," Fuutie said, "and Sakura-chan's cake really has been delivered to the wrong place, then it's unlikely that they'll be able to track it down in time."

"However," Shiefa interjected, "there's a possibility it's still in the bakery."

"What are you saying?" Fan Ren asked. "That someone should take this cake back to the bakery and see if the other cake is there?"

Shiefa nodded. Sakura considered this.

"I see your point, Shiefa-san," she said. "But who would we send? I'm not sure I want anybody to go off at this point. I'm still missing a few key people and I don't want to lose anyone who is already here!"

"I know that, Sakura-chan, but Shiefa's point is too valid to ignore. It's too late to place another order with a different bakery, and aside from baking the damn thing ourselves, I really don't know what else to do," Meiling said.

Sakura sighed for the third time in the last half-hour, and somehow she just knew there'd be a fourth. And a fifth, and a sixth…

"Okay. But who are we going to send?" she asked.

"I'll go!" Fei Mei offered.

"I'll go with her," Meiling said.

Everyone else nodded.

"Okay. Get changed back into your normal clothes and for God's sake, step on it!" Sakura instructed. Fei Mei and Meiling saluted and dashed upstairs.

…

The phone rang a few minutes after Fei Mei and Meiling had gone (on what Tomoyo had dubbed 'Operation Cake Switch') and Sakura pounced on it, hoping against hope that it would be Naoko-chan, Rika-chan and Terada-sensei or Chiharu and Yamazaki.

It was Eriol.

"Hi, Sakura-san, is Tomoyo there?" he asked brightly.

"WHY aren't you NAOKO-CHAN or RIKA-CHAN or CHIHARU-CHAN?" Sakura demanded wearily.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Sakura-san," he said calmly. Sakura sighed for the fourth time.

"I'll get Tomoyo-chan for you," she said, and, covering the mouthpiece of the receiver, she yelled, "TOMOYO-CHAN! PHONECALL FOR YOU!"

"Coming!" Tomoyo called breathlessly as she ran to Sakura. Sakura put the receiver in her best friend's hand and walked away.

"Hey, Eriol. What's up?" she asked her fiancé.

"We're bored over here!" he wailed. Tomoyo laughed.

"I don't know what you're complaining about, myself. I'd give anything to be bored - it's disaster central over here," Tomoyo said.

Eriol was immediately alert.

"Why, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Well, for a start, one of the bridesmaids and one of the groomsmen are stuck at the airport, waiting for a flight. The other two bridesmaids and the remaining missing groomsman are God knows where, as we haven't even heard from them. Plus, everyone else that we're waiting on is stuck in traffic!" she explained.

"Then the wrong cake arrived at the house. It was a cake intended for a hen night, Eriol, and unbelievably inappropriate, so Fei Mei-san and Meiling-san are on their way to the bakery to take the cake back and see if Sakura-chan's real cake is still there. Oh, and probably yell at the people in the bakery. Everybody's quite tense at the moment," she finished cheerfully.

Eriol sweatdropped.

"Do you want us to come over and help you guys?" he asked.

"There's not much you can do, and Syaoran can't come over anyway, as he can't see Sakura-chan before the wedding," Tomoyo replied.

"So, basically, all we can do is sit tight here and be good boys," Eriol said.

"Yep. Oh, and you could pray. That might help."


	27. No, Your Other Left!

_**About the last chapter: **_Okay, there's just something about the last chapter that a few people commented on that I'd like to reply to.

**The fact that the colour combination of the dresses was weird**

Okay, to name one person who I remember mentioning this, **synchrogirl. (**I know other people mentioned it, but I can't remember who they were, sorry!)

Come to think of it, the colour combination was BEYOND bizarre. It was really late when I wrote the parts about the dresses and I think I must have needed sleep. The thing was that I wanted all the different groups of people to walk down the aisle in different colours.

_Disclaimer: _I don't own CCS.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Seven_

_No, Your _Other _Left!_

"I wonder how Fei Mei and Meiling are doing," Sakura said thoughtfully as she waited with Tomoyo for all the male children to get dressed. Tomoyo was dressing Meiling's six-month-old son, Sasuke, as he couldn't quite manage it himself and his mother was currently on a mission.

Meanwhile, Minoru, Shiefa's nine-year-old son, was getting changed into his little suit, complete with silver waistcoat and bow tie. Fan Ren's son, five-year-old Kotarou, was getting dressed in an identical outfit. It was Minoru's job to walk with ten-year-old junior bridesmaid Rina down the aisle, while Kotarou was to walk his seven-year-old sister, Tohru.

"Don't you two look _handsome?_" Sakura stood up and exclaimed as the two boys entered the room. Minoru flushed a deep shade of pink, while Kotarou just beamed.

Tomoyo grinned.

"Absolutely fantastic! These two are _definitely _fit to walk our two beautiful young ladies down the aisle. You guys look great!"

Then she frowned as Sasuke insisted upon giggling and playing with a strand of Tomoyo's long hair instead of letting her manoeuvre his chubby little arm into a sleeve.

At that moment, the phone rang. Sakura froze dramatically, as did Tomoyo, and they looked at each other. They stood in silence for a few rings, until Minoru said timidly,

"do you want me to get it?"

In answer, Sakura hurled herself out of the room and down the stairs, letting out an inhuman sort of screech, followed by, "if it's not Naoko-chan or Rika-chan or Meiling-san or someone, I'll scream!"

Minoru blinked at Tomoyo.

"Is she okay?" he asked her. Tomoyo smiled serenely as she continued to wrestle with Sasuke.

"Of course. She's just getting married, that's all."

…

"So we turn left here…" Meiling said as she studied the map sitting unfolded in Fei Mei's lap. Fei Mei let out a shriek.

"Keep your eyes on the _road_, Meiling-chan!" she cried as Meiling swerved accidentally while trying to read the map.

"Sorry!" Meiling apologised to the people honking their horns at her.

"_I _read the map from now on, okay? Now, take another left here," Fei Mei instructed. Meiling began to turn.

"No, _my _left!" Fei Mei cried.

"This way?" Meiling asked.

"No! There isn't even a turn-off there!" Fei Mei replied.

"Then this way?"

"Meiling-chan! We've completely missed the turn-off now!"

"Well, that can be solved…"

Fei Mei sat in shock.

"You did not just do an illegal U-turn there, did you? Please tell me you didn't!"

"I think I did, actually," Meiling answered cheerfully.

"I'm now properly frightened."

"It could have been worse," Meiling said brightly.

"How?" Fei Mei asked darkly.

"Just for a moment, I considered simply reversing…"

"Oh. My. God. You actually considered reversing in a crowded, busy carriageway?"

"Yeah."

"How about we pull over, and I drive?"

…

Sakura dove upon the phone.

"H-hello," she answered breathlessly.

The voice on the other end sounded concerned.

"Sakura-chan, are you okay? You sound like you've just run a marathon!" Yanagisawa Naoko said.

"Naoko-chan!" she cried delightedly. "I'm just under a lot of stress, is all. Anyway, where are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry, I guess I added to your stress by not contacting you sooner," Naoko said, sounding worried.

"No, not at all, I'm just glad I'm talking to you now!" Sakura answered.

"Well, listen, Sakura-chan, I'm off the plane and everything, but there's a problem with the trains. The whole line has broken - there was a bomb scare on one of the trains, or something, and the whole service has been held up," Naoko explained.

"Oh no!" Sakura gasped.

"As there's no way to tell when the service will resume, I was considering just taking a cab to your house," Naoko continued.

"No!" Sakura objected. "That would probably cost a fortune!"

Then she became thoughtful.

"Just how far away from my house are you, Naoko-chan?" she asked. Naoko consulted her map.

"According to this map, I'd estimate about fifteen miles," she said.

"Okay then, I'll come get you!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Oh no, Sakura-chan, I couldn't ask you to do that!" Naoko objected.

"I insist!" Sakura said determinedly.

Naoko sighed.

"I know I'm not going to be able to convince you otherwise when you're so set on this, so okay. I'm at West Avenue station."

"Okay! I'll see you soon!" Sakura said, and she hung up.

"Tomoyo-chan!" the bride yelled up the stairs to her maid of honour. "Do you know where the car keys are?"

"I think they're on the hook on the wall in the kitchen!" Tomoyo called. Then she fell silent for a moment, before yelling, "why do you want them? Oh God, I hope you're not going to attempt to slit your wrists with them or anything! Because, quite apart from anything, they're not quite sharp enough…"

Sakura facefaulted.

"No, Tomoyo-chan, you silly woman, I am _not _going to attempt to take my life with my practically-blunt car-keys! I need them to go pick Naoko-chan up at the station!" Sakura answered.

"Oh, so it was Naoko-chan on the phone, then?" Tomoyo shouted. Then she paused.

"Hold on a second, come up here, I'm going to go hoarse yelling at you otherwise!"

…

When Sakura had explained Naoko's train-station phone call to Tomoyo, Tomoyo proceeded to look thoughtful.

"I really don't think you should go," she said finally. Sakura's brow creased.

"Why not?"

"Because, to be perfectly honest, Sakura-chan, a good number of bridesmaids and groomsmen are AWOL at the moment, and the last thing we need is for the bride to go missing on a rescue mission," Tomoyo reasoned.

Sakura bit her lip.

"I suppose so," she said, "but _somebody _has to pick up Naoko-chan!"

"How about," Tomoyo said seriously, "we swap. I'll take care of Naoko if you dress Sasuke-chan!"

Sakura sweatdropped.

"You still haven't managed to dress him?" she asked. Tomoyo looked sheepish.

"Hey, he's adorable, but he puts up quite a fight and I've lost several handfuls of hair to him already!"

…

Sakura had been patiently dressing Sasuke while chatting to Kotarou and Minoru for five minutes when Tomoyo walked back into the room. To say Sakura freaked out would be an understatement.

"Tomoyo-chan? What the hell are you still doing here? I thought I sent you to pick up Naoko-chan!" she screeched. Tomoyo looked calm.

"Now now, Sakura-chan, language in front of the children," Tomoyo chided. Minoru immediately looked annoyed.

"Hey, I'm not a kid! I'm nine years old!" he objected. Tomoyo smiled.

"My apologies. I meant children and young man."

Minoru looked mollified.

"Okay, Tomoyo-chan, now that you've finished scolding me (and I do apologise, boys), will you please explain why you're here when you're supposed to be driving to West Avenue station?"

"Let's just say," Tomoyo said with a little smile, "I found better people for the job…"

…

"Yahoo! We finally get to actually _do _something!" Eriol whooped as he, Syaoran and Syaoran's best friend Lei got into Syaoran's car.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Syaoran fretted. Lei rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Syaoran-kun! We get out of the house _and _we get to rescue a damsel in distress!" Lei grinned.

Syaoran smiled.

"Okay, but who decided that Eriol was driving?"

…

"Turn right here, Meiling-chan!" Fei Mei instructed.

Meiling turned left.

"No! Your _other _right!" Fei Mei shrieked.

"Jesus Christ, how many rights are there?"

Fei Mei's breathing was heavy.

"How come you're still driving, Meiling-chan?"

…

There was a knock on the door of Sakura and Tomoyo's home, and Tomoyo dashed downstairs to answer it. She was greeted by the smiling faces of Shiefa, Fan Ren, Fuutie and Yelan.

"So I take it that the checks on Li mansion went okay?" Tomoyo asked cheerfully as the women walked into the house.

"Yes. Everything's okay there. Did everything go as planned during our absence?" Yelan asked.

"Well…" Tomoyo said sheepishly.

"Tomoyo-chan! Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura cried as she ran down the stairs with Sasuke in her arms. "I did it! I did it! He's _dressed_!"

Tomoyo looked as though she could cry.

"Sakura-chan, you are a miracle worker!" she said, then she turned to the women in the hall.

"It took us _forty-five minutes _to dress that child!"

Yelan, Fuutie, Fan Ren and Shiefa laughed, and then there was another knock at the door. Sakura answered it this time, and was shocked to see Honda Arisa and her boyfriend.

"Sakura-san honey!" Arisa exclaimed immediately, and made to hug Sakura, before she noticed Sasuke. She grinned.

"Ah, now I see why you and Syaoran-san decided to get married so hastily! He'sadorable, Sakura-san!" Arisa cried as she gently stroked Sasuke's cheek while he gurgled happily.

Sakura flushed spectacularly.

"Really, Arisa-san, you're so dim! He's not mine, you silly woman, it hasn't been nine months since I last saw you, so it's impossible! He's Syaoran's cousin's little boy," she explained, and Arisa nodded.

"That explains why he looks a little like Syaoran," she said, as she continued to stroke his chubby cheek with a look of bliss on her face.

"You're not getting one of those, by the way," Arisa's boyfriend said dryly. Arisa grinned.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce my fiancé!" she said suddenly. Sakura wiggled her eyebrows at Arisa.

"_Fiancé, _huh?" she asked, grinning. Arisa blushed.

"Yeah, I finally talked him into getting married to me," she explained, "the wedding's next summer and Syaoran and you _must _come!"

Sakura's heart broke when she saw Arisa looked so excited. By next summer Sakura and Syaoran would be divorced.

"We wouldn't miss it!" Sakura replied cheerfully. Arisa looked delighted. She stood for a second, just smiling, until her fiancé coughed delicately, and she remembered that she had been about to introduce him.

"Oh, yeah! This is my fiancé, Ueda Kenji!" she said, and the attractive blonde man waved. Sakura smiled to herself.

"Ueda, huh? I wonder if he's any relation…" she began, then she gasped.

"Oh my God, Ueda-san!" she exclaimed, her hand clapped to her mouth.

…

"So Li Syaoran and Kinomoto Sakura haven't yet turned up for work?" Ueda said into the phone, sounding puzzled. He sighed, and after saying that that was okay, he hung up.

"They haven't been here since before that convention! I do hope they haven't done something stupid, like eloped…" he muttered to himself.

…

"I can't believe we made it!" Meiling exclaimed as she and Fei Mei pulled up outside the bakery.

"I can't believe we made it alive," Fei Mei muttered dryly, looking a little green from Meiling's reckless driving. Meiling glared at her.

…

Ten minutes later, after an angry exchange with the managers of the bakery, the two women walked out of the building. There were tears in Meiling's eyes.

"What are we going to do, Fei-chan?" Meiling asked wearily. "I really thought this was going to work… We can't have the reception without a cake!"

Fei Mei sighed.

"I know. I feel so _hopeless_…. It's like Sakura entrusted us with the task of getting the cake, and we failed… But this feeling of hopelessness and failure isn't the worst part," Fei Mei warned Meiling.

"Really? What is, because this feels pretty bad," Meiling said. Fei Mei looked grim.

"Telling Sakura," she said. Meiling nodded.

"Okay, so that's definitely going to be the worst part. Will I do it, or will you?" she asked.

Fei Mei took out her cellphone.

"I will."

She dialled the number and waited for Sakura to answer.

"Hello, Sakura-chan? We have some bad news…"

…


	28. Countdown

_Chapter Twenty-Eight_

_Countdown_

Sakura was weeping. Tomoyo-chan was worrying. Honda Arisa was trying to console the bride, along with the three Li sisters who were present. Arisa's fiancé, Kenji, was holding Sasuke and looking very awkward while doing so. Li Yelan was nowhere to be seen.

"This wedding will be the DEATH of me!" Sakura wailed. "I STILL haven't even HEARD from one of the bridesmaids and one of the groomsmen. Another bridesmaid and a groomsman are stuck at the airport. A third bridesmaid is stranded at a train station fifteen miles away. Half of our guests are still trying to get here. And, just to TOP IT ALL OFF, I've just been told that there won't be any cake at the reception! You can't have a RECEPTION without CAKE! It's absurd!"

"Look, Sakura-san, everything will be okay," Arisa said soothingly. "Look at it this way - you sent people to pick up the stranded bridesmaid, the two who are stuck at the airport are doing everything in their power to get here, I'm sure you'll hear from the two that you haven't heard from and you got Sasuke-chan dressed!"

Sakura giggled at that and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

"I actually think you're coping very well, Kinomoto-san," Kenji said quietly, "especially considering that this is the most nightmarish wedding I've ever borne witness to."

"Thank you, Ueda-san," (A.N. Shattered has just realised how confusing this is going to be now, with two Uedas ((sweatdrops)) ) Sakura said, smiling.

…

"Wow, Eriol-san, I'm surprised," Syaoran commented as he, his best friend Lei and Eriol drove to pick up Naoko-chan. "You're actually quite a sane driver."

Eriol looked offended.

"Well, of _course _I am! I'm a sane person!" he exclaimed. Syaoran raised one eyebrow.

"Really? Considering the fact that your fiancée is Tomoyo-san?" he asked, sounding skeptical. "I mean, I love Tomoyo-san, but she's a little…"

Eriol looked sheepish.

"Okay, so I'd be lying if I said that Tomoyo doesn't compromise the sanity of things slightly, but…"

Syaoran interrupted him.

"You really love her, don't you?" he asked quietly. Eriol nodded.

"Yes. I love her more than anything."

Syaoran looked thoughtful.

"Man, you two are lucky!" Lei exclaimed happily. "Both of you have girls to love who love you. Must be nice."

Eriol glanced worriedly at Syaoran, who was looking forward with a faraway look in his eyes. Syaoran gave a little smile and tried to look like he wasn't pondering something serious, and lied, "yes. It is."

Eriol followed Syaoran's lead and smiled too.

"Don't worry, Lei-san, I'm sure you'll find that too," he said in a reassuring tone, before looking at Syaoran again. His amber eyes looked glazed and unfocused, yet somehow sad. And possibly… Regretful? Sorry?

_My heart breaks for him. Him and Sakura-san. I hope that nobody gets hurt from this, but I see only bad things for this pair on the horizon. Lying about something as big as being in love is dangerous, and then there's the possibility that one of them might start to believe the lie, and fall in love with the other…_

_They're walking a fine tightrope between making this work and falling apart. And I can see they're slipping. They're slipping, and my heart breaks for them._

…

Tomoyo was strongly considering sending Sakura out for a walk with some of the children to maybe help calm the bride down, but considering that everyone was in full wedding gear, that was not possible.

So, she told the children to try to calm their new aunt down, and so they were sitting around her, the two four-year-old twins both sitting on her lap, and the rest sitting on the floor at her feet.

(Well, all the children except for Sasuke-chan. Arisa's fiancé Kenji had overcome his initial awkwardness with the child, had taken a strong liking to him and was playing with him. Of course, Arisa ferociously approved of all this.)

The children were chattering away gaily, and now and again they would request that 'Aunt Sakura' would tell them a story. She happily obliged each time, and even the older children were mesmerised with her tales of daring knights, male and female, and of princes and princesses.

Ten-year-old Rina especially liked the story where a female knight had to save a prince in distress, as opposed to the traditional damsel in distress.

Tomoyo and Arisa were on hand to take any phone calls that came, so as to save Sakura the stress of hearing any more bad news.

"She really does have a way with children, doesn't she, Daidouji-san?" Arisa remarked to Tomoyo as they watched Sakura.

"Yes indeed," Tomoyo agreed with a smile. They jumped when, at the same time, there was both a knock on the door and the phone began to ring (A.N. Trust me when I say that this _does _happen. I should know - it's happened to me a few times : -) )

Arisa and Tomoyo looked at each other.

"I'll take the door, you take the phone call," Tomoyo proposed. Arisa nodded.

"Hello, you have reached the house of Kinomoto Sakura and Daidouji Tomoyo. I'm taking this call on behalf of the aforementioned residents and I would be most pleased if you could tell me whether this call relates to Kinomoto Sakura's impending wedding, for if it doesn't then I'm afraid I shall have to call you back at a later time…" Arisa said when she picked up the phone.

Meanwhile, Tomoyo scrambled for a key to open the front door. When she found one, she opened the door hurriedly, threw it open and was delighted to be greeted by the sight of her mother, Touya, Fujitaka, Yukito and Nakuru.

"Hi, you guys!" she said happily. "Come in, come in!"

"Hey, Sweetheart, you look amazing," Touya said with a smile as he hugged her. Tomoyo blushed.

"Thanks! And hey, look at you, all handsome in your tux!"

"Did you make that dress, Tomoyo-san?" Yukito asked as he, too, hugged her. Tomoyo nodded.

"It's fantastic!" he complimented her, and she smiled her thanks.

"Oh, Tomoyo, dear, I'm so happy to see you! I approve of the dress - very stylish," Sonomi said as she hugged her daughter.

"Tomoyo-san, it's lovely to see you again. Is everything going okay? How's Sakura?" Fujitaka asked as he hugged Tomoyo.

"Tomoyo-chan!" Nakuru cried. "I haven't seen you in _ages_! How are you?"

And, of course, Nakuru didn't hug Tomoyo - she _jumped _on the younger woman.

At that moment, Arisa hung up the phone.

"Oh, by the way, Honda-san, I have to say that that was the most professional answering of a phone I've heard in a long time," Tomoyo said to Arisa with a grin. Arisa smiled back.

"Well, I work at a cab company, so I'm used to answering the phone to speak to complete strangers," she replied.

Then Tomoyo noticed that everyone was looking at Arisa with polite curiosity. Tomoyo sweatdropped.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you all! Everyone, this is Honda Arisa - Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san made friends with her a couple of weeks ago during a business trip to Tokyo. She was their cab driver while they were there. Oh, and her fiancé is that blond man in there. His name is Ueda Kenji," Tomoyo said to everyone.

When Arisa caught sight of Touya, she turned to Tomoyo and wiggled her eyebrows.

"I _thought _you were looking a little flushed and giggly - it's because _he _gave you a hug, right?"

…

A few minutes later, Arisa had been properly introduced to everyone and the seven of them walked into the room where Sakura was with the children. Sakura's eyes lit up when she saw who had arrived, and she enthusiastically greeted the five newcomers.

Then Kenji had to be introduced to all the new people. And then everyone had to be introduced to all the children.

However, Touya looked suspicious of the children.

"Those kids better not be Syaoran's," he said, eyes narrowed. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"No, just the little one that Ueda-san is holding," she said.

Touya's eyes widened.

"WHAT?" he demanded. "Where is that little bastard Li anyway? I'll wring his neck!"

Sakura blinked. Yukito gave one of his sunny smiles.

"Don't worry, Sakura-san. I think he's suffering from delayed reaction to the news that you're getting married. I don't think he was really as calm about the whole thing as he appeared to be."

"Well, he doesn't need to worry, because little Sasuke-chan isn't Syaoran's! All the kids are my new nephews and nieces - they're Syaoran's sisters and cousin's kids," she explained hastily.

At that point, three of the Li sisters and Yelan appeared, and the introductions began all over again.

…

"Oh, Honda-san, I forgot to ask - who was on the phone anyway?" Tomoyo asked a while later, when everyone was settled in the living room.

"Oh!" Arisa said, her mouth forming an 'o' shape of surprise. "I forgot all about that! It was somebody named Mihara Chiharu-san, she said to tell you that she and Takashi Yamazaki-san had landed here and were on their way. She also said to tell you that they were sorry they didn't tell you when they got on the plane - they did phone but the line was engaged, so you must have been talking to someone else at the time."

Sakura looked delighted.

"Well, that's great news! Things finally seem to be looking up! Everybody is finally getting here!" she said happily.

"And, Sakura-chan," Tomoyo began, "I was thinking about the fact that we haven't heard from Rika-chan and Terada-sensei yet, and I remembered that, since Rika is eight months pregnant, they can't fly here. So they had to drive all that way by car and the traffic's probably terrible. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll get here in time, though - the last thing Rika-chan would want to do would be to let one of her friends down."

…

"Well, I guess that's phase one completed," Lei mused as the three men pulled up outside the station. "Now, to find our fair maiden!" he finished dramatically.

"Is he always this crazy?" Eriol asked Syaoran, sweatdropping.

"Well, that's a little rich coming from you, but yeah," Syaoran said, smiling fondly at his best friend.

"So, what does our damsel in distress look like?" Lei asked the other two eagerly.

"Well, I've never actually seen the woman, but Tomoyo told me that she's average height, with straight brown hair to her chin, brown eyes and she wears large round glasses," Eriol said.

"Right!" Lei said, and the three of them split up to look for the 'poor, stranded maiden'. (cough cough)

…

"We're sorry we're late!" Rika cried, sounding anguished as she and Terada-sensei entered through the front door that Tomoyo was holding open for them.

"Don't worry about it! We're just glad you're here now!" Sakura cried happily, as she (very gently) hugged her heavily pregnant friend.

"We would have called, but Yoshi's been completely paranoid since I got pregnant and he said we couldn't use our cellphones anymore because they give off radiation," Rika explained, rolling her eyes fondly.

"Hey, those things _do _give off radiation! And I am _not _paranoid!" Terada objected. Rika smiled and patted his arm.

"Yes, yes, I know, dear," she said.

…

"Hello," Lei said to a woman he passed who fitted the description, "you wouldn't be Yanagisawa Naoko-san, would you?"

The woman looked him up and down and smiled seductively.

"For you, honey, I'd be anybody," she purred. Lei sweatdropped.

"Uh, I'm flattered, but…"

…

"Yamazaki-kun! Chiharu-chan! I'm so happy you're here!" Sakura cried as she opened the front door to the couple, who were smiling.

"We're sorry we're late!" they chorused.

…

"Found her yet?" Eriol asked Syaoran as the two men passed each other. Syaoran shook his head.

"I haven't even seen anybody who'd be close to the description!" he exclaimed. Eriol sighed.

"It's such a big station… However, we really must find her, and fast," he said. "Perhaps Lei is having more luck than we are."

…

Everybody in the Kinomoto/Daidouji household was running around, getting dressed and having make-up done.

"I can't believe my little Sakura is getting married in an hour," Fujitaka said in wonder, as he tried to stop the two four-year-old twins from playing with his glasses.

…

'_Okay,' _Lei thought to himself, that _certainly cannot be her. Her hair's the wrong length and she isn't wearing glasses. Besides, I don't think 'incredibly hot' was in the description. However, we so desperately need to find her that I'm willing to try anything!'_

"Hello beautiful, you wouldn't happen to be the stranded damsel in distress by the name of 'Yanagisawa Naoko-san', would you?" Lei asked. The woman blinked, then smirked.

"Well, I'm no damsel in distress, but I do go by the name 'Yanagisawa Naoko'. Who might you be?" Naoko asked.

"Why, I'm your knight in shining armour, here to rescue you!" Lei exclaimed, bowing low with a flourish.

Naoko raised an eyebrow.

"Rescue me from what? The evils of the train station?" she asked skeptically.

"You know, in all those fairy tales, the fair maiden is usually meek and lets the knight sweep her onto his horse. She's not supposed to argue about being rescued!" Lei pointed out.

"What horse?" Naoko asked.

"It's a figure of speech!" Lei said.

"And isn't the maiden supposed to wear a long, flowing white dress?" Naoko argued further.

"Well… Yeah. You've got a point there - you're not exactly dressed for sweeping…" Lei admitted. No, in her business suit, Naoko looked like she was dressed for a board meeting.

"So, what exactly are you going to do, if you've no horse and I refuse to be swept?" Naoko asked, a smile twitching the corners of her lips despite herself.

"I'll be a twenty-first century knight!" he exclaimed.

"And what does that mean?" Naoko asked.

"I'll carry your luggage, we'll substitute the horse for a car and instead of sweeping you, I'll open the car door for you."

Naoko had to laugh.

…

"We're back! Sorry about the cake!" Meiling and Fei Mei cried as they walked through the front door, having been welcomed back by Tomoyo.

"Look, don't worry about it," Tomoyo said in a reassuring voice.

"But I'm sure Sakura-san is beside herself about it," Fei Mei fretted. "She sounded so horrified on the phone."

Tomoyo gave a little smile.

"I wouldn't worry about it - lots of people have arrived since then, and she's feeling much happier now. In fact, we're only missing one bridesmaid now."

"And a cake," Meiling added gloomily.

"Yes, Tomoyo-san, what _are _going to do about the cake?" Fei Mei asked.

Tomoyo strapped on one of her best 'don't worry, everything's under control' smiles and said, "I'm sure things will turn out okay. Now get upstairs and get dressed!"

…

Eriol, Syaoran, Lei and Naoko had assembled at the car, and were now driving to Sakura's house. Lei and Naoko were seated together in the back seat and Eriol was driving again.

"So, how come you're not wearing glasses and your hair's too long?" Lei asked Naoko. The brunette looked confused for a minute, then laughed.

"Oh, I forgot that Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan haven't seen me in a couple of years. Well, my hair grew and I got contacts for the wedding," she said, and pulled a face.

"I didn't want to be the ugly bridesmaid," she explained. Lei looked confused.

"You, the ugly bridesmaid? I don't think so, somehow," he said. Naoko blushed.

"Oh, but you haven't seen the others yet," she said modestly.

In the front seat, Eriol and Syaoran rolled their eyes at each other, but they were smiling.

…

Everybody in the Kinomoto-Daidouji household was lined up in the living room for an inspection by Tomoyo.

"Well done, everybody, you all look great!" Tomoyo said happily. There had been a few sticky moments while they were getting ready, such as the fact that Tomoyo had had to practically redo Sakura's whole make-up job, as the bride had been crying so much.

Also, seven-year-old Tohru had chosen a fantastic time to go AWOL (A.N. Which, for those of you who asked me what this meant the last time, is an army term which stands for 'absent without leave'. It basically means to disappear) and it had taken half the adults in the house twenty minutes to find her.

(She had fallen asleep in the cupboard under the stairs, by the way. The adults decided unanimously that it was not worth asking her why she was in there in the first place.)

Then, of course, there had been the rush to get the latecomers ready.

Now, however, Tomoyo was proud to say that their hard work had paid off.

"It's a good thing we're all ready, too," Arisa said, "not a moment too soon. We have to be at the church in a half hour, right?"

Sakura bit her lip.

"Yes, and Naoko-chan still isn't here yet," she said.

Everyone looked worriedly at each other.

_'Plus,' _Tomoyo thought to herself, _'we don't have a cake.'_

…

"Did somebody order a bridesmaid?" Lei called as he, Eriol and Naoko (Syaoran had driven back to his house, as he wasn't allowed to see Sakura) walked into the Kinomoto/Daidouji household using Eriol's key to open the door.

"Naoko-chan!" Sakura cried delightedly when she caught sight of her friend.

"Sakura-chan!" Naoko said happily. The two were about to hug each other when Tomoyo stepped in.

"Sorry, girlies, but we don't have time for reunions. You -" she pointed at Naoko - "are coming upstairs with me. Right now."

…

"Okay!" Tomoyo said ten minutes later. "Roll call! Everybody, get your butts into the living room NOW!"

"I think Daidouji-san was in the army in a past life," Lei muttered to Eriol. Eriol smiled serenely.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

"Okay - Sakura-chan!" Tomoyo began. Everybody sweatdropped.

"Um, Tomoyo-chan, I've been here all morning… You know that," Sakura said timidly. Tomoyo sighed.

"Look, you're the most important person in this thing, so it makes sense to check that you're here. Besides, it's been such a chaotic morning, we can't take any chances!"

"Don't argue with Sergeant Major Daidouji-san!" Lei put in helpfully.

"Okay, here!" Sakura said finally.

"Nakuru-san!"

"Here! But I wish you'd call me Nakuru-chan!"

"Yukito-san!"

"Here!"

"Touya-san!"

"Here!"

"Kinomoto-sensei!"

"Here!"

"Chiharu-chan!"

"Here!"

"Terada-sensei!"

"Here!"

"Eriol!"

"Here, Dearest!"

"Lei-san!"

"Here!"

"Tomoyo!"

Then she sweatdropped.

"Oh wait, that's me," she said sheepishly.

"Mother!"

"Here, sweetie!" Sonomi called.

"Rika-chan!"

"Here!"

"Naoko-chan!"

"Here!"

"Yelan-san!"

"Here!"

"Fei Mei-san!"

"Here!"

"Meiling-san!"

"Here!"

"Fuutie-san!"

"Here!"

"Shiefa-san!"

"Here!"

"Fan Ren-san!"

"Here!"

"Honda-san!"

"Here!"

"Ueda-san!"

"Here!"

"Alice-chan and Riku-chan!"

"We're here!"

"Kotarou-kun!"

"Here!"

"Minoru-kun!"

"Here!"

"Rina-chan!"

"Here!"

"Tohru-chan!"

"Here!"

"Sasuke-chan!"

"He's here!" Kenji put in, as he was still holding the little boy.

"Syaoran-san!"

"He's at his house!" Lei answered.

"Syaoran-san's brothers-in-law!"

"They're with him!" Eriol replied.

"Right, so everybody's here except them…" Tomoyo muttered. "I'll give them a call and tell them to go to the church."

"Everybody else, go out and get into your cars!" Sakura instructed. "Does everybody know how to get to the church?" she added as an afterthought. There was a deafening reply of 'yes!'

"Okay, then let's go!" the bride cried, and everyone cheered.

"Sakura-chan, your transport is awaiting you outside!" Yelan said to a baffled Sakura.

"What?" she asked her future mother-in-law. Everyone smiled.

"We were all in on this except you," Touya informed her.

"We hired a special mode of transport to get you to the church," Sonomi explained.

Sakura looked even more confused.

"Look outside, and you'll understand," Tomoyo said kindly, after hanging up the phone on Syaoran. Sakura did what Tomoyo said, and she gasped when she saw what was standing in her driveway.

"Oh my God!" she said, shocked to the core. Everybody laughed.

It was a white, horse-drawn carriage. The two horses were white and the carriage was draped with curling white ribbons. Even the man who was driving the carriage was dressed in white, and the horses' reins were white.

"This can't possibly be for me… How can I accept this?" she asked.

"Don't be so silly!" Sonomi exclaimed. "It was nothing!"

"Now, Princess Sakura, your carriage awaits," Yukito said, smiling.

"Everybody, before we go, I'd just like to say - here's to no more disasters!" Tomoyo cried.

"Hear hear!" everyone replied.

…


	29. Finally

_Disclaimer: _CCS is not mine.

_Special thanks to: _Everyone who reviewed. You're all fantastic people. Thank you very much.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Twenty-Nine_

_Finally_

Sakura and Tomoyo were currently travelling to the church in style, seated side-by-side in the horse-drawn carriage. It was a gorgeously fabulous day, the late-morning air was crisp without being cold and the only clouds in the sky were pure white and complimented the rich marine perfectly.

The sunlight kissed them gently, warm but not overpowering. It was as if the sun was smiling down on them, Tomoyo mused.

However, Sakura's subdued expression was giving Tomoyo cause for concern.

"Sakura, you're very quiet, is something wrong?" Tomoyo asked worriedly. Sakura was quick to shake her head, making her honey-coloured curls bounce.

"No, everything's great, Tomoyo-chan. Thanks for coming with me - I didn't want to ride to the church alone," the bride said, fixing on a smile as she looked at her best friend.

Tomoyo's violet eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You're not really fine at all, Sakura-chan. Don't forget that I know you like I know the back of my hand, and I know when you're lying."

Sakura sighed, suddenly becoming interested in her feet.

"Okay, so you got me," she said, lifting her head to look back up at Tomoyo. "I guess I'm a little uneasy about all this. I mean, Syaoran and I, we're lying, aren't we?"

Sakura's green eyes were wide, pleading and… Frightened?

"I am quite certain," Tomoyo said, with a reassuring little smile, "that everything will be okay. You are, after all, Sakura-chan. Now stop looking so worried! Cheerful little Sakura-chan isn't supposed to worry!"

Sakura managed a tired smile.

"Now now, Sakura-chan, this is your wedding day. You'll have to do better than that," Tomoyo chided gently.

"Oh yes, because we have to put on a show for the cameras," Sakura said quietly. Tomoyo sighed.

"Sakura-chan -" she began, but Sakura cut her off with a shake off her head.

"No, Tomoyo-chan, I'm sorry for being like this. I brought all this upon myself, after all," the bride said, giving a sad smile.

There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the steady, rhythmic clop of the horses' hooves against the road. Children would look out at the carriage from windows, and point excitedly. Sakura waved at all of them.

A little girl with red pigtails, walking along with her mother, stopped and pointed at the carriage with the hand that her mother wasn't holding.

"Look, mommy, look at the horsies! And look at those ladies' pretty dresses!" she exclaimed. The mother laughed.

"Yes, aren't the horses lovely? The lady in the white dress must be getting married - doesn't she look beautiful?"

The little girl nodded fervently as Sakura waved at the two of them. The little girl and her mother waved back.

"Mommy, she's getting married in a pretty dress, but she doesn't look very happy," the little girl said seriously, gazing up at her mother.

"No, she doesn't," the mother agreed, sounding sad.

"I'm sorry things ended up like this," Tomoyo whispered to Sakura.

…

"Okay, everybody's here," Yelan said to Sakura when she and Tomoyo arrived at the church. The steps outside the main door to the church were a hive of activity, with everyone running around like lost headless chickens.

"Everybody, line up in the right order! Sakura-san, you need to be with your father at the back of the line!" Sonomi called.

"Good luck, Sakura-chan. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just think of this as a big party, okay? Everyone's going to have a fantastic time, and isn't that great?" Tomoyo whispered to Sakura, squeezing her shoulder reassuringly.

Sakura broke out in a genuine smile.

"Thank you for that, Tomoyo-chan," she replied. She felt better now that Tomoyo had put the matter that way - wasn't it great that, because of her, everyone she cared about would have a fantastic day?

Many people wished Sakura good luck as she passed them on her way to her father. When she got to the end of the line, she smiled up at her father. Then she blinked, looking worried, when she saw that her father's eyes were filling with tears.

"Otou-san? What's wrong?" she asked. Her father shook his head, smiling.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just an old man being silly, that's all."

He paused for a second.

"I hope you know, Sakura, that I am very proud of you. I have been, all your life, and I love you very much. And I'm sure your mother would have said something much more fitting, if she was here," he finished with a smile.

Sakura laughed.

"Thanks, otou-san. I love you too," Sakura replied, and they embraced each other quickly.

"Okay, is everybody ready?" Sonomi asked excitedly. There was a cry of "yes!"

"Well then, let's get this thing on the road! After the disasters we've braved this morning, surely things can only go right! So, I wish you all good luck only as a precaution," Sonomi continued. Everybody laughed.

Sonomi and Yelan sneaked quietly through a small side door of the church and crept back to their seats in the main church. The massive line of people outside the main door, on the stone steps, looked at each other.

"Okay, so we all proceed down the aisle slowly and, hopefully, elegantly, then stop at the front of the church. Sakura-chan and Kinomoto-sensei wait outside the main door, in the entrance hall, until all the rest of us are at the front. Okay, everybody clear on what they have to do?" Tomoyo called from her position.

Everybody cried "yes!" again, and Shiefa and her husband, Yuki, who were at the front of the line, bravely pushed open the main doors. The whole congregation of people immediately turned to look at them and the pianist began to play music.

"Okay," Shiefa muttered to her husband, "here goes."

And they proceeded down the aisle, arm-in-arm.

Following them was Meiling with her husband, Satoshi.

Then Fan Ren with her husband, Kyo.

Then Fei Mei with her husband, Daisuke.

And Fuutie with her husband, Hideki.

Then, Chiharu and Yamazaki.

Followed swiftly by Lei and Naoko.

Then followed not-so-swiftly by Rika and Terada-sensei.

It was at this point that there was a ripple of panic among those who were still outside - they had just realised that there wasn't anybody free to walk Touya down the aisle.

"He can walk on my other side!" Sakura hissed quickly, and everybody sighed in relief.

Then they realised that nobody had gone up the aisle in a while, and everybody inside the church was looking puzzled. Tomoyo blinked and snapped back to attention, saying quickly, "Minoru and Rina, go!"

After the two eldest children came brother and sister Kotarou and Tohru.

Then more flower girls in the form of twins Alice and Riku.

Then, the maid of honour (Tomoyo) and Eriol walked up the aisle after a (planned) pause.

Then, finally, it was Sakura, Fujitaka and Touya's turn. Touya looked down at his sister and said, "here we go. I can't believe you're getting married… But hey, we don't have time for a big, emotional thing, so I'll make this brief - 'Tou-san and I love you, okay, Kaijuu?"

Sakura laughed.

"For once, I don't mind the nickname. Thanks, onii-chan."

"And now," Fujitaka said, smiling at his daughter and remembering his own wedding so many years before, "for the longest walk of your life."

Sakura nodded and tried to compose herself. The butterflies fluttering in her stomach were so severe they felt like seagulls.

The pianist changed his music to the bridal march. The congregation was looking more and more excited.

For a wild, insane second, Sakura felt like bolting.

However, the moment passed and Sakura smiled up at her brother and father, then they walked through the doors, slowly, gracefully, and together. Sakura wouldn't have had it any other way.

…

The congregation turned and gasped over how beautiful the bride was. Sonomi was weeping already in her seat beside Yelan, and Wei, who was on her other side, was awkwardly comforting her.

"If it's possible, Sakura-hime 1 looks even more beautiful with the church as a backdrop!" Nakuru squealed to Arisa beside her. "And, of course, Touya-kun looks as glompable as always…" she added as an afterthought.

Arisa grinned.

"You're gonna pounce on him after the service, aren't you?" she asked wickedly. Nakuru sprouted a grin almost identical to Arisa's.

Kenji, on Arisa's other side, muttered something like "poor man". Sasuke gurgled happily from his position on Kenji's lap.

"Yes, that's your mommy and daddy up there, isn't it?" Kenji cooed at Sasuke.

…

When Sakura set eyes on Syaoran, waiting for her at the front of the church, all her butterflies disappeared. It was strange, but she didn't feel nervous any more. He was standing there, waiting, looking more certain than she could ever have felt in a million years, and suddenly, she felt certain.

She wasn't afraid any more.

Actually, that thought scared her a little. The thought that she was really ready to say 'I do.' And, she was.

It occurred to her that really, the church was beautiful. The pale grey stonework was brightened by the sunlight streaming through the large windows dotted along the walls. The arch-shaped windows were highlighted as they had flowers attached to the stone around the outside of them - white roses and pink lilies on green vines.

It looked as though the flowers were growing along the stone.

Syaoran, waiting at the front, was bathed in the coloured light of a magnificent stained-glass window.

The flower-girls had done their job well - the aisle was dotted with the Sakuras and Nadeshikos they had chosen for confetti. The whole effect was that it was as though there had been Sakura and Nadeshiko trees 2 planted in the church, and there had been a breeze, which had knocked the blossoms off.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

…

"Oh. My…" Syaoran gasped to Eriol when Sakura came into view. Eriol grinned.

"She does look rather amazing, doesn't she?" he said happily.

"I can't believe _she's _marrying _me_," Syaoran said, sounding bemused. "When she gets up here, the minister's gonna look at her, then at me, and go "okay, you're kidding me. You want me to marry these two? There must be some mistake - there's no way _he _could get _her_.""

Eriol continued to grin, then wiggled his eyebrows at Syaoran.

"Well, you can't see yourself, but believe me when I say you look pretty good, mister," he said. Syaoran looked skeptical.

"If you don't believe me, then ask any female at the reception later," Eriol said.

"You look hot - Sakura-chan's a lucky girl," Tomoyo said, right on cue, from behind her video camera. Eriol's eyes narrowed.

"Okay, I meant he could ask any female _except _you. You know, you're a real flirt, Tomoyo," Eriol said.

Tomoyo grinned.

"Oh, sweetheart, you know I only do it because it irritates you. You look even hotter - I hope you realise that tonight you're going to wear that tux to be-"

Syaoran, shuddering violently, interrupted at that point.

"Okay, Tomoyo-san, that's quite _enough_. I _really _don't want to know," he said.

…

Sakura kept her eyes on Syaoran, waiting for her at the front of the church. Her feet moved perfectly well in a straight line despite her doubts over how obedient they would be. She ignored the faces all around her, for she was sure she would trip if she lost sight of where she was going.

Of course, she wasn't sure she wouldn't trip just looking at Syaoran. Tomoyo had made his tux, so at least Sakura knew who to thank. It was black, of course, but it shone green in the light. There was a Chinese-style dragon stitched on the back of it, its tail curling over one of his shoulders…

Which, of course, got her to thinking about how well the tux showed off his well-built shoulders, and after that, she was gone.

…

Sakura decided that her father hadn't lied. That walk _had _seemed like the longest one of her life - probably because she'd spent the whole thing wanting to get closer to those amber eyes…

She finally arrived at the front and took her place opposite Syaoran. All her bridesmaids and groomsmen huddled around her smiled and mouthed words of encouragement and for the first time today, she was happy.

She was truly blessed to have so many people here for her today.

…

"You look amazing," Syaoran muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Thanks, so do you," was Sakura's hasty reply.

Then the minister cleared his throat to signal that he was ready to begin. The piano player stopped playing and all the wedding party and the congregation fell silent.

"Well, may I just begin by saying that this is the biggest wedding party I've ever seen!" he joked. "And now, on to the serious part - dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran in holy matrimony…"

…

"And do you, Li Syaoran, take Kinomoto Sakura as your wife, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer -"

"For better or worse!" the adults in the wedding party added.

The minister smiled.

" - for better or worse, until death -"

(_Or divorce, _Sakura thought)

"-do you part?"

Syaoran, laughter shining in his amber eyes, said, smiling at his bride, "I do."

Sakura's heart stopped. How could he look so confident when lying in front of a church full of people?

And yet, she was about to do the same thing.

"And do you, Kinomoto Sakura…"

How dare he look at her like that? How _dare _he gaze upon her with a look in those eyes like he… Like he…

Like he wasn't lying anymore. Like he… Loved her.

"take Li Syaoran as your husband, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, better or worse, until death do you part?"

Sakura's mouth was dry. The church was silent - not even Sasuke was making a sound. However, it was a joyful, calm silence - not a tense one, but a gently respectful silence while the people just waited. They just waited for an 'I do' they were sure would come.

Of course, the two other people who knew the marriage was faux were looking distinctly worried. One of the hands clutching Tomoyo's bouquet had white knuckles, and on the other hand, clutching her video camera, the tendons were sticking out.

One of Eriol's hands was wrapped around the hand Tomoyo had on her bouquet, trying to offer some semblance of comfort.

_Can I lie, in front of all these people? _Sakura asked herself.

_What else can you do? _the rational part of herself asked. _And won't it hurt them more if you _don't _lie now?_

_I'll try my best to honour the vows I make, _Sakura thought determinedly. _I will try hard not to murder Syaoran for the six months we're together. I'm sorry for lying, in front of all these people. I'm sorry…_

Her gaze found its way back to the face of the groom, and, for some reason, her heart gave a great lurch. He was standing there, looking at her, smiling, not looking the least bit afraid that she might not answer the way they had agreed she would.

_He trusts me, _Sakura thought.

And, for some reason, that thought was comforting. And, somehow, it made her search herself for the strength to do what she had to do.

She gave a smile, and said, "I do."

There was a great sigh from the congregation, as they finally stopped holding their breath. Tomoyo began to cry in relief (and also, probably, in exhaustion). However, Tomoyo and Eriol looked worriedly at each other, Tomoyo squinting at her fiancé through her tears. They had a big problem here.

"Well, then, I pronounce you husband and wife! You may now kiss the bride!"

Syaoran looked at Sakura, uncertain, perhaps even asking her permission. Sakura rolled her eyes, smiled, and gave the faintest of nods.

Only then did he advance slowly and gently place his lips against her own, his large hands coming to rest on her bare shoulders.

A great cheer rose from the congregation of the church as everybody hugged and kissed each other, some crying and babbling incoherently. The bridesmaids and groomsmen hugged each other, all the women in tears. Touya and Fujitaka looked at each other and smiled proudly.

_That's our girl._

Sakura's heart gave that lurch again. Why was this wedding starting to feel so _real_? Why wasn't she feeling regretful or scared any more? Was it because Syaoran kissed her like this? Was that enough to drive her fears away?

The kiss ended and Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, before smiling.

_We did it. It wasn't easy, but we did it._

…

"Hold this for me a second, will you, Chiharu-chan?" Tomoyo asked her fellow bridesmaid, handing her the video camera. "Just keep filming everyone congratulating Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san, okay?"

Chiharu beamed happily and said that of course she would, not noticing the crispness of Tomoyo's tone, the slight sheen of worry in her eyes.

Eriol caught Tomoyo's eye and the two of them moved a little away from everyone.

"Did you see what I just saw?" Eriol asked his fiancée in an urgent whisper. Tomoyo nodded.

"They weren't lying, were they? There was definitely… A light shining in Sakura-chan's eyes. A glimmer of something…" Tomoyo said.

"Dangerous. I noticed the same thing about Syaoran-san - it was his eyes, too. They looked…" Eriol began.

"Different. Warmer," they said together.

"This is _bad _news. When we heard Sakura-san was going to do this, we said that we would endeavour to get her out of it as safely as possible - as unhurt as we could after the six months," Eriol said, sounding worried.

Tomoyo looked weary.

"But if they fall in love -"

"Or if one falls in love with the other, but the other doesn't reciprocate," Eriol pointed out.

Tomoyo rubbed her temples with her fingertips.

"This whole thing has just been one big headache," she moaned. "Why do I have a funny feeling that this is all going to end in tears?"

Eriol looked grim.

"This could destroy her."

…

It was at the reception that Syaoran's numerous relatives began to swamp the happy couple. Syaoran had caught Sakura's hand in one of his own and was introducing her to Li after Li after Li. Sakura had been told 'congratulations!' more times than she could count.

However, the most memorable chat had _definitely _been the one with Syaoran's great aunt. Of course, it wasn't memorable in a good sense…

"Sakura, this is my great aunt, Bo and my great uncle, Jin," Syaoran introduced his new bride to the middle-aged dark-haired woman and her husband.

"How are you? It was lovely of you to come here today," Sakura said politely, bowing to Bo. Bo laughed.

"My, isn't she sweet? So polite!" Bo said, before grabbing Sakura and kissing her on each cheek. Syaoran gave a fake, uneasy laugh, but Sakura wasn't even fazed. She'd been kissed numerous times today.

"You two look amazing! Sakura-chan, that gown is simply fantastic! Where on earth did you get it?" Bo asked.

"Oh, my friend's a fashion designer, she designed it for me - it's a one-of-a-kind Daidouji creation," Sakura said, proud of her best friend's talents.

"Well, it's gorgeous, and you two look fantastic," Bo said, but then she adopted a look of concern. "However, you look a little tired, Syaoran-kun."

Then she shook her head, seemingly at herself.

"Oh, wait, how could I be so tactless? Last night was _the night before the wedding_ - I guess you two didn't sleep a wink! Enjoyed yourselves, did you?" she added conspirationally, winking.

Syaoran choked and spluttered.

"Aunt Bo!" he coughed.

Sakura had to pound him on the back to allow him to breathe normally again.

"Well, I, uh, you see, we, um…" Sakura began, her face on fire, her eyes meeting Syaoran's. She wanted nothing more than to die on the spot.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to _tell _anyone! I know stuff like that's personal," Bo replied.

_You could have fooled me! _Sakura thought.

"Really, Aunt Bo?" Syaoran asked. His eyes were still watering from the all the choking he'd done.

"I know Syaoran-kun's uncle and I had great fun as newlyweds!" Bo said cheerfully, oblivious to the fact that her great nephew and his wife wanted the ground to swallow them up.

Sakura had to fight to keep a strained smile on her face. Syaoran seemed to have given up completely, and Sakura had a feeling he was about to make a feeble excuse and leave, so she gripped his arm tightly, thinking, _oh no, dearest husband, you're not getting out of this one!_

Still the uncle said nothing, just continued to smile blandly.

"Well, you two have… _Fun_… On your honeymoon!" Bo said with a wink as she waved and left with her husband, who could distinctly be heard muttering, "woman, you have absolutely no tact! I've never seen two more embarrassed people!"

"Do you have to hold my arm quite so tightly, _dear_?" Syaoran asked with a grimace. Sakura released him and he immediately began to rub his sore arm.

"So, have you got any other sex-mad relatives I should watch out for?" Sakura asked pointedly. Syaoran looked apologetic.

"I am so, so sorry about that…"

Sakura shook her head, trying not to smile.

"Nah, it's alright. It was kind of funny, actually," Sakura said, then she paused. It was her turn to look apologetic.

"I'm sorry I squeezed your arm so hard - I thought you were going to say something like 'oh, there's -insert random family member-! I must ask him/her about their kids/ jobs/ pets/ new house/ new face etc.' and leave me!" Sakura explained, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"You know, darling wife, you can be quite funny when you want to be, I _did _think abut making an escape, but I was going to make an excuse for _both _of us - as if I would ever leave you alone with one of my crazy relatives!" Syaoran exclaimed.

At that moment, Nakuru and Arisa, giggling madly, ran up behind them and dumped a bucketful of glitter and confetti over the couple.

"Hey!" Sakura yelled playfully. "You guys!"

But the two of them had run away by the time that Sakura managed to clear her vision of the Nadeshiko and Sakura flowers they had chosen for confetti.

"I think," Syaoran said, smiling, "that those two _may _be a tad… Er, how shall I put this…"

Sakura and Syaoran turned to follow the progress of Arisa and Nakuru around the room. Nakuru had jumped on a very surprised Touya, while Yukito looked on. And tried not to laugh.

"Drunk," Sakura and Syaoran said together.

"That's surprising though," Sakura pointed out, "the reception has only been going on for a half hour. We haven't even had dinner yet."

"Well," Syaoran said, "if they're this drunk right now, I shudder to think of the state they'll be in by the end."

"I just feel sorry for whoever has to drive them home," Sakura said, laughing. Syaoran laughed along with her.

"Yeah - their car's going to _stink_!"

When their laughter died down, Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other again. Sakura giggled.

"What?" Syaoran asked, clueless as to what was so funny.

"You have…" Sakura murmured, "Glitter… On your nose."

"I do?" Syaoran muttered. Sakura nodded.

"Mmm hmm…"

_Damn it! _Syaoran thought. **Why** _does she have to sound so seductive?_

"And on your… Eyelashes, too," Sakura couldn't breathe properly. She realised she shouldn't be feeling so… Shocked, since she'd initiated this, but he was coming closer and…

"Really, Sakura?" he asked softly. His hands were coming up to frame her face.

Sakura gave a squeak.

"You have glitter on your face, too," he murmured, and there was just a hint of something rougher in his voice that thrilled along her spine.

"Where?" Sakura asked shrilly. Hey, look at that, she'd managed to speak! Okay, so she sounded like she had swallowed helium, but still!

"On your lips… How about I get that for you?" Syaoran asked, his lips lifting in a charming grin.

Sakura's useless brain only managed to shriek, 'MEEP!' She felt that that wouldn't really be a worthy response, so she simply closed her eyes.

His breath was on her face and suddenly, her hands tangled in his hair of their own accord. He was coming closer, closer, her heart banged a nervous tattoo against her ribcage and those butterflies/seagulls were back in her stomach, she felt dizzy…

"Oh, sorry, looks like we caught you two at a, um, bad time," Chiharu said nervously when she and Yamazaki came up to Sakura and Syaoran.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly - for some reason, her eyelids felt heavy. When she saw her two friends standing there, she blushed and it took everything she had not to shove Syaoran away and act like an embarrassed schoolgirl caught red-handed kissing someone in the PE supply closet.

Instead, she gracefully disentangled herself from her husband's embrace (although she was fairly certain she heard Syaoran give a faint grunt of protest) and smiled at them.

"No, not at all. We weren't busy," she said. Syaoran gave her a Look.

"Weren't we? I was under the impression that we were in the middle of something, myself," Syaoran said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hey!" Tomoyo yelled, sounding anguished as she ran up to the four of them, Eriol trailing her.

"Why did you have to interrupt them?" Tomoyo demanded of Chiharu and Yamazaki. "I was filming it!"

She waved her camcorder for emphasis.

Sakura, Syaoran, Yamazaki and Chiharu sweatdropped.

"You were filming us, Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked. Tomoyo nodded, looking smug.

"Yep, I got all that went on before you were _interrupted_," she said, pausing to glare daggers at Yamazaki and Chiharu, who withered under her killer gaze.

Then she seemed to remember something particularly funny, for she stopped glaring and grinned.

"Including _'you have glitter in your eyelashes…'_" she said in a stupid, falsetto voice, fluttering her eyelashes outrageously. Tomoyo realised that it wasn't very nice of her to snigger, but she couldn't help it.

"Oh, and _'well, you have glitter on your lips…'_" she said in as deep a voice as she could manage, in a poor imitation of Syaoran.

Sakura and Syaoran turned flame red.

"Tomoyo-chan/Tomoyo-san!" they cried as one. Tomoyo laughed her evil laugh.

Eriol sweatdropped.

"I am really sorry for my fiancées immature behaviour. I think it's all the stress of today," he apologised.

"Sorry for teasing you two," Tomoyo apologised sheepishly, once she had got herself under control. "I actually thought it was really sweet - you looked so awkward."

"That's okay," Sakura said gracefully. Then she turned to Yamazaki and Chiharu, looking every bit as sheepish as Tomoyo.

"Oh, I've just remembered - did you two want something?"

Yamazaki and Chiharu laughed.

"Oh, I totally forgot!" Chiharu exclaimed. "It's just that dinner is about to be served, so everyone has to go and sit down at the table."

Everyone nodded at this and followed Chiharu and Yamazaki to the massive glass tables that had been laid out in the centre of the room where the reception was being held.

Syaoran grabbed Sakura's wrist as they walked and leant down to whisper in her ear, in a low growl, "I guess we'll pick up where we left off later."

Sakura tried not to shiver, failed, and didn't care.

…

A.N. 1 'Sakura-hime' is the same as 'Princess Sakura'.

2 I know Sakuras grow on trees, but I honestly have no idea about Nadeshikos. Sorry if I made a mistake with saying that they grow on trees.


	30. With Or Without You

_Disclaimer_: I don't own CCS. Or, indeed, U2's beautiful song 'With Or Without You'. Or Britney Spears' 'You Drive Me Crazy'.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty_

_With Or Without You_

Sakura was seated between Syaoran and Tomoyo at the table that was in the middle of the room. As the dinner was for over two-hundred and fifty people, there were several tables laid out. Sakura was glad that whoever had done the seating arrangements had put her with people she knew, as opposed to some more obscure relatives of Syaoran - she had been put off meeting any more of Syaoran's guests after the unpleasant and awkward conversation with his great aunt Bo.

"I really must find the caterers and thank them," Sakura said as she took a bite of her chicken. "This is really lovely."

Then she looked worried and stared around anxiously at the people at her table.

"Is everything okay for everybody? They did give you the vegetarian option, didn't they, Naoko-chan?" she asked.

Naoko gave an easy, reassuring smile and nodded.

"Yes, Sakura-chan. Nut roast," she said. Lei, who was sitting beside her, turned to her and said, sounding surprised, "you're a vegetarian?"

To which Naoko answered that she had become one a couple of years ago after researching the illegal battery farming of hens and cattle for one of her books. And, with that, Lei and Naoko were off taking again.

"Do you know the way they say that two people _always _get together at weddings?" Eriol muttered to Tomoyo, who was sitting beside him. She had been raising a forkful of chicken to her mouth, but stopped to grin and rested the fork back on her plate.

"Yeah - they usually say it's the maid of honour and the best man," Tomoyo said. Eriol frowned.

"Well, I guess that's close enough. I mean, she's a bridesmaid, and he's one of the best men," Eriol reasoned, wrinkling his nose.

Tomoyo's eyes held an amused look.

"Can I assume that we're talking about Naoko-chan and Lei-san?" she asked. Eriol nodded.

"Yep, this time around I'm sure it's those two," he said. "I'd bet an awful lot on it."

…

"I didn't know that Naoko-chan knew how to flirt," Sakura muttered to herself as she raised a forkful of chicken to her mouth.

"What was that, sweetheart?" Syaoran asked absently. Sakura's lips lifted in a grin, although she tried very hard to fight it.

"I said that I didn't know that Naoko-chan knew how to flirt," she repeated.

"Maybe," Syaoran said, "it's just because Lei-kun's very good at it."

Sakura blinked, looking surprised.

"So you've noticed too?" she asked. Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Sakura dearest, I think it's fairly obvious even to a dense person like myself," he said.

"Well, I'll just have to fix that, won't I?" Sakura murmured, an odd light in her eyes (it might have been called devious, if it wasn't Sakura, who was, of course, incapable of such a thing).

Syaoran's note to self: Never mess with Sakura when she gets that expression on her face.

…

Sakura looked around the table at which she was seated. Oh _no_, it looked as though everyone had finished! The reason that that was such a bad thing? They were supposed to be having wedding cake for dessert, but they were, um, without a cake.

At that moment, the team of caterers had appeared and had begun to take away the dinner plates, re-setting the places with dessert plates. Sakura tried desperately to catch someone's eye, like Yelan or Sonomi, but she couldn't manage it.

When Sakura saw that all the plates had been replaced, she sighed and got up off her seat to apologise about the lack of cake.

Of course, as she was the bride, everyone's heads turned to look at her. Most people looked confused - weren't the speeches supposed to be _after _the cake? Silence fell over the room. She cleared her throat nervously, then attempted a smile.

"Ladies and gentleman, I'd just like to say -" she began, then stopped abruptly when she saw a very large, very grand cake being wheeled in by a few of the catering team.

It looked amazingly like the cake Sakura had wanted originally. She was fairly certain her mouth was hanging open in shock. It was like a magic trick, or something! How on earth had they managed that?

"Um… Here's the cake?" she finished lamely, looking and sounding bewildered. There was a smattering of polite but confused applause as she sat down.

She smiled at her table-mates.

"Okay, which one of you did this?" she asked. She drew only blank looks and a chorus of 'it wasn't me!'

Sakura frowned.

"But then…"

It was then that she caught the eye of Yelan at the neighbouring table. Yelan smiled at her and gave a small wink.

_Okay, so it hadn't been the work of a magician, but it was still a very cool conjuring trick!_

…

"Now," Yelan said when the cake was wheeled out, "it's time for the bride and groom to cut the cake."

Nervously, Sakura and Syaoran got up from their seats and made their way to the enormous cake. Yelan handed them a large silver knife, which Sakura took.

Then, they looked at each other. Syaoran nodded at her, and Sakura placed one of her hands on the handle of the knife. Syaoran placed one of his hands just behind hers, and they faced the cake together.

They gently plunged the knife into the thick icing of the cake, and as they slowly cut a slice, there was applause. When the couple had made one cut, they turned to Yelan, as if to say 'well, that's us done.'

However, Yelan shook her head, looking amused.

"No, you two, you have to cut two pieces, and then, at the end, you have to…" she looked as though she was having difficulty phrasing the next part, "_smear _it over each other's faces."

Sakura pulled a face at that.

"Really?" she asked, and there was a ripple of laughter from the others in the room.

Yelan's smile didn't falter - in fact; it got even bigger, if anything. Sakura turned to look at Syaoran, to see what he made of all this. He shrugged, smiling - it almost seemed to be a challenge - like, 'I'm okay with it, aren't you?'

She wasn't about to make a fuss over something without back-up, so she shrugged too, and turned back to Yelan. Yelan, regal eyes still crinkled in that smile, waited for them to cut the two slices.

And they picked up the knife and did so, together.

…

Everybody at Sakura's table had finished their cake (which was, according to everybody, including the bride and groom, absolutely delicious), and now she was starting to get worried. She dearly hoped that there were still people eating at the other tables, as she had to make a speech when they were done.

Normally something like that wouldn't have fazed her, but she had forgotten that she would have to make one until Yelan had reminded her at the end of the ceremony. Nervously, she twisted her napkin in her hands and stared down at her lap.

At that moment, when the last stomach had been filled, Yelan stood up, clutching her wineglass.

"And now, I think it's time for the speeches," she said. Somehow, Yelan had become the unofficial auto-cue for the participants in the wedding.

"First, the groom," Yelan decided, and Sakura heaved a silent sigh of relief that she hadn't been called on first. Syaoran gave his most charming smile as he stood up, looking so easy and casual that Sakura was envious.

"We've got a few speeches to get through, so I'll make this as brief as I can. I first met Sakura when we were both eighteen - we were both starting out as interns in the company we both still work at - Riverbrook.

We were two of twelve, but she was the only one I saw - I thought she was stunningly beautiful - a honey-haired goddess."

Sakura choked at that and looked up at him with wide green eyes. Was that _true_? Or just something for all the guests?

"However, because I liked her, I suppose, I made quite a scathing comment to her when we were paired up to work together for an assignment - this assignment was to determine who would be hired. We were split into six groups of two, and the two whose work was deemed to be the best would both be hired.

Sakura immediately went on the defensive - I had just been cruel to her without a definable reason, so why shouldn't she? And she said something to me, something cutting, but witty - another reason to like her. She wasn't just a pretty face, she was smart too.

By some miracle we managed to get hired for our work - we decided early on to split the workload into two and work separately, as we fought like cat and dog for the two pointless days we tried to work together.

However, we were taken on by different departments - I by advertising, she by sales. I saw her numerous times, however - I'm pretty sure we were cursed to keep running into each other. I said and did some stupid things, and she retaliated. I began to hate her more and more, and I forgot the reasons why I had seen her that day above everyone else.

I forgot that she was sweet, and beautiful, smart and funny."

His face took on a thoughtful look, and his absent half-smile let slip that he was looking into the past. His audience was silent, completely spellbound, utterly absorbed. Even Sakura herself was hanging on his every word, despite the fact that she was supposed to know all this already.

"However, fate had something else in store for us. Sakura was promoted and moved departments - she became the Deputy head of Advertising to my Head of Advertising. Our boss brought her in to my office one morning and announced her promotion.

I couldn't believe it. _Then _he said that she would be sharing my office, and I was positively furious!"

There was a rippled of laughter from the audience.

"Of course, he was adamant that Sakura would work from my office, with me. And, slowly but surely, it became _our _office. Many strange, mostly unfortunate things happened to us, such as getting stuck in a lift together, getting caught in situations that _looked _a little, okay, compromising -"

Sakura blushed scarlet.

"- and having nobody listen to our side of the story. We were sent on a business convention together - _anything _that could have brought us together seemed to happen to us! And having her in the office with me, laughing with her, talking with her, getting into trouble with her, playing jokes on her and having jokes played on me by her… I began to remember the reasons why I saw her that day, and more.

For now I saw the real Kinomoto Sakura - the unknowingly charming angel with a wicked sense of humour and a gorgeous smile, who was willing to stand up herself.

I forgot why I hated her."

He seemed to have realised that he had said too much, or perhaps he just felt Sakura's shocked, wondering eyes on him, for he blushed at that point and coughed. It was as if he was coming out of a trance.

Eriol and Tomoyo glanced at each other, worried. In that look they shared, they communicated - _he's not lying._

"Anyway, I guess she must have felt the same way, because we're here today. And although we got off to a bumpy start, I just know we'll be okay. After all, we practically lived together in the office, so she can't pull anything on me - I know that she's very tidy and everything.

Anyway, thank you all for coming to our wedding. It's been a very special day. And no big brothers of Sakura need worry - I swear I'll take good care of her!"

There was appreciative laughter and applause from the audience, especially from Touya, who looked begrudgingly amused.

"And now, the bride," Yelan announced, as if everyone hadn't worked out that the bride's speech would follow the groom's.

Sakura stood up nervously, clutching the stem of her wineglass perhaps a tad too hard, as her knuckles were white against the glass. She cleared her throat and gave a nervous, embarrassed, 'can't-you-tell-that-I-would-rather-be-doing-anything-right-now-than-this?' smile.

She feared it was more of a grimace.

"Well, what a hard act to follow!" she said. "I'm afraid I'm not blessed with the same confidence or charm that my husband is -"

There was a protesting shout of "you're very charming!" from one of the further-away tables. That made Sakura smile.

"Well, thanks, but I'm afraid I must disagree. All I can say is at least one of us has those gifts, or we wouldn't have got here today!"

There was laughter all around her, and Sakura immediately relaxed - perhaps this was going to be okay.

"Okay, joking aside, I think my husband did a very good job of telling our story -" she paused at that. 'Our story'. It was such an odd term to her ears. "- that I really don't have all that much left to say."

She took a deep breath.

"You know how we met - in a room of interns. And you know that we were paired up for a work project. I was hopeful about the project - I felt it was something I could do well. Of course, Syaoran then proved to be the partner from hell, and we ended up splitting the workload in two.

He continued to do some pretty awful, embarrassing things to me, and we fought like… Like we were in a war, to be honest. Then I was promoted, and it was revealed to me that I would work from his office, and I had the same feelings about it that Syaoran did.

However, I can honestly say that I forgot to hate him too. As we talked with one another, and, yes, fought with one another, as we learned about each other and even managed to work together, we became closer.

And, no matter what comes our way, I can honestly say that I have been lucky to have a person like him in my life."

Her eyes were soft and gentle, the smile quirking her lips honest and heartfelt, small but definitely there.

"Because he helped me see that beneath a seemingly cold exterior can indeed beat a heart of gold."

She stopped talking, and the tables erupted into applause. Yelan was crying, Sakura noticed suddenly, but then she looked as if she'd been at it for a while, so it could have been her son's speech that set her off.

Rika was in rivers of tears, but she too looked like she had been crying for quite a while - Sakura put that down to pregnancy hormones.

"And now, the bridesmaids and flower-girls!" Yelan announced, sniffing.

Tomoyo, Chiharu, Naoko, Rika (still spluttering, but managing a smile), Fei Mei, Meiling, Fan Ren, Shiefa, Fuutie, Rina, Tohru, Alice and Riku stood up.

"Well," Tomoyo began, "as you can see, there are an awful lot of us, and we all had different points of view on today, so we wrote the speech together, and we're taking turns to read it."

Sakura smiled - that was Tomoyo, ever organised.

"So, Chiharu, Naoko, Rika and myself will take the first part of the speech," Tomoyo said, fumbling with the cards in her hands.

"I'm Daidouji Tomoyo, the maid of honour. Sakura and I have been best friends for years, ever since we were little. My first memory of her is from when we entered our kindergarten class together. I was nervous of this place, and all these noisy children.

Then, when we were let out to play in the playground at recess, I was standing by myself under a Sakura tree, trying not to cry. Then she appeared, her red-gold head made all the more brilliant by the sun, and she didn't so much run as _bound_.

When she reached me, she gave me one of her smiles and handed me a flower.

"What's your name?" she asked, and although I was surprised, I told her. I never felt alone again after that."

Tomoyo's eyes were looking suspiciously shiny and her voice was soft. She appeared to be staring off into the distance, as if trying to see into the past.

"Sakura was always the happiest, most friendly little girl in the room, and I always felt lucky to have her for my best friend. She had a sunny smile, and was always ready with a kind word, even for those people she didn't know.

We grew up together, and shared our problems and fears.

I have to say I was surprised to hear that she was getting married - I guess I just never expected her to leave me. But I understand that she will never leave me, I will never lose her, and we are not growing apart, but just finding our separate paths in the world.

I fiercely approve of Syaoran, as Sakura knows, and I wish them the best of luck in the world. I could talk all day, but as there are so many of us, we'll have to move on."

Tomoyo smiled and Chiharu began to speak.

"I'm Mihara Chiharu, a bridesmaid. Sakura and I have been friends for what seems like forever..."

"I'm Yanagisawa Naoko, a bridesmaid…"

The speeches passed in a blur of the women getting teary-eyed as they talked about their friend. Sakura couldn't deny that her eyes misted, too. Tomoyo said several more things during the course of the speech.

"During our lives," they finished together, speaking as one; "one of the most special friends we have ever made is Sakura."

Sakura was crying openly at this point, there was no use in denying it.

Then Fei Mei, Fan Ren, Meiling, Fuutie and Shiefa stood up, and they spoke of being related to the groom, and how that affected their view of the day. They also spoke of becoming close to Sakura.

Then, finally, the four young flower-girls stood up, and their part of the speech consisted of two sentences - they simply chorused together - "we're very happy to have a new aunt, and we're very lucky that she is somebody as lovely as our Aunt Sakura. We love her a lot already and we hope she'll be happy being a Li, like us."

The female party sat down together to enormous applause, and the male party's speech was announced.

By the time they were done talking, Syaoran's face was bright red and he was ready to kill Lei for revealing a lot of embarrassing things about little Syaoran, as the two of them had been friends since they were babies.

"Anyway," the men finished together, "he's all grown up now and getting married, and we're proud of him."

…

After those… Um… _Enlightening _speeches, the tables were moved by the catering team to wherever they had originally come from and the lights were turned down, being replaced by disco lighting.

The DJ had been set up and there was a circle of chairs around the walls, so the large dancefloor was exposed.

"I liked Lei's speech the best, you know," Sakura said teasingly to Syaoran, just to see his face light up again.

"Ha ha ha," he said dryly. Sakura only smiled.

"Now," the DJ announced into his microphone, "it's time for the bride and groom's first dance together as a married couple."

Sakura looked at Syaoran with wide, frantic eyes.

"But I haven't told him what to play!" she exclaimed. Syaoran smiled.

"Don't worry, I took care of it," he said, and he took Sakura's hand, leading her into the middle of the dancefloor.

"I'm sorry, Syaoran, but I don't quite trust your judgement," she hissed as they got into position to slow dance.

"Don't worry," he muttered again, "trust me. I've picked out something I think you'll like."

Sakura still looked doubtful.

"It's just that I don't want to look horrified in front of all these people when the song starts up," she fretted. "Besides, I feel nervous enough as it is -"

Syaoran silenced her by putting a finger to her lips.

"Look, you and the other women organised practically this whole wedding - I just wanted to pick _one song_, okay?" he said.

Sakura looked apologetic.

At that moment, the DJ started to play the song. Sakura closed her eyes and held her breath, fearing the worst, until she heard the opening notes. Her eyes snapped open.

(A.N. Okay, sorry to interrupt the proceedings like this, but this is an important note **that I want everyone to read**, and if I put it at the bottom half the people probably wouldn't read it.

I chose this song, 'With Or Without You' by U2, because I think it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. However, I didn't choose this song for its lyrics, I chose it for the way the song sounds.

'Friends' fans will probably be able to recognise it if they think hard - Ross had the radio play it for Rachel after he cheated on her (the infamous 'we were on a break' thing) in one of the early series.

Otherwise, ask your mom or dad if they have the album it's from ('The Joshua Tree') or maybe search the web to see if you can find a recording of it somewhere. I, personally, think it's a gorgeous song.

Actually, to make sure that it could be used as a song to slow-dance to, my sister Lily and I ACTUALLY slow-danced to it. Yes, I'm serious - we honestly did stand in the room that I write in and dance to 'With Or Without You' - I had borrowed my dad's CD of it.

This is the sort of crazy thing 'Butterflies' makes me do.)

Godammit, her vision was swimming again! But how could he have known to play this song?

Sakura sang along softly to the words, and looked up at Syaoran.

"How did you know to play this song?" she asked. Syaoran blinked, then smiled.

"I knew you'd like it! I just heard it on the radio on the way to the church today, and so I thought it would be fitting. I thought it was a really pretty song."

"It's my favourite song," she murmured, closing her eyes again and laying her head on Syaoran's shoulder. Slowly, timidly, he drew her a little closer and held her there, softly.

"With or without you… With or without you," she sang quietly.

"Don't they (hic) look lovely?" a drunken Nakuru asked a sobering-up Arisa.

"Mmm hmm," she said, looking at her fiance, who was sitting next to them.

He smiled at her and took her hand in his.

…

"They look…" Tomoyo paused to exhale, "perfect, don't they?"

Eriol looked down at her, smiling sadly.

"Indeed they do," he said.

Tomoyo sighed.

"I swore I wouldn't let them love each other, because I wanted them to be able to part without being hurt. But, watching them…" she trailed off, violet eyes drawn to the slowly revolving couple.

"It seems it's too late for that, doesn't it?" Eriol concluded sadly.

"But perhaps they'll both fall in love, and everything will be okay!" Tomoyo chirped, sounding a lot more cheerful than she actually felt.

Eriol nodded wisely.

"There is always that. There could be a happy ending."

"And still, I worry for Sakura-chan, because, on the day I met her, I swore I would never let any harm come to her if I could help it. And if she falls in love with him, and he doesn't reciprocate…"

"Or if he wants her, as opposed to loving her -" Eriol pointed out.

Tomoyo bit her lip.

"I know that it seems I want to protect Sakura-chan from everything and everyone, but I don't want to see her fall apart like that ever again," she said, smiling sadly in an effort to stop the tears.

"If she did, I couldn't… I couldn't bear it."

"She's been burned before," Eriol said, "and they always say, 'once bitten, twice shy.' Perhaps she'll be so wary that she won't allow herself to fall for him."

"But isn't that even worse?" Tomoyo asked. "For her to love, but never let herself show it because she was afraid?"

Eriol shrugged and pulled Tomoyo into a hug.

"We'll know soon enough," he said.

"Perhaps, for now, we just have to let them make their own mistakes," Tomoyo concluded.

…

Everyone around the dancefloor was commenting on Sakura and Syaoran - how wonderfully they danced, and how in love they looked.

"It seems that things are finally going right after the horrible morning," Meiling remarked to Fuutie.

"Here's to happy endings!" Sonomi cried cheerfully as she clanked her wineglass against Yelan's.

"Remember when it was us, there, dancing?" Chiharu asked Yamazaki, a reminiscent smile crinkling her eyes as she craned her neck round to look up into his face. His arms tightened around her.

"Of course I do," Yamazaki answered. "Best day of my life."

"Thank you for choosing this song," Sakura whispered, raising her head from where it lay contentedly on his shoulder. He smiled in return.

Syaoran's skilled dancing had surprised Sakura - he hadn't stepped on her foot once, to her amazement, and it was strangely pleasant to sway slowly in the midst of the glittering half-lights that turned her white dress a million colors.

She could feel warmth radiating from his body, his breath dancing over the top of her head, warming her hair.

She looked up at him, then, green eyes on the amber of his, and he looked back at her. His gaze was patiently wondering, as if he wanted to know what it was she wanted, but he would let her take an eternity to figure it out. And another eternity to tell him.

And suddenly, as the last few lines lyrics rang out over the speakers, without knowing why, but just knowing that there was something roaring in her ears and something stirring within her heart that was dangerous and she had to _stop _it somehow, she raised herself on her tiptoes…

Placing a hand on his cheek to steady herself, she leant down and just gently touched her lips to his.

When she pulled back, after the kiss that was over before either of them could even think about it, Syaoran looked confused for a moment, then he smiled.

It was then that she knew she'd succeeded - she'd managed to tell him how much what he had done had meant to her without clumsy, inefficient words getting in the way.

The music came to an end and suddenly, all too suddenly; Sakura could see the faces watching them again and she remembered where she was. She had forgotten for just a second.

The rapt, happy faces made Sakura smile despite herself, and seeing the married couples reminisce warmed her heart.

Then they were joined by practically every couple in the place on the dancefloor for the next song, and this made Sakura happier than she could say.

"I picked this one too," Syaoran said, his smile definitely on the mischievous side. Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

He nodded.

"I thought it was very… Fitting…" he said mysteriously.

Then the song started up, and it suddenly wasn't so mysterious. From the very first words, Sakura couldn't stop laughing. She laughed and laughed and laughed, and after all the stress she had been under lately, nothing had ever felt so good.

"May I have this dance?" Syaoran asked mock-seriously, sweeping into a low bow. Sakura smiled, and gave a mock-snooty little nod of her head, holding her hand out to him.

He took it, and, laughing together, they danced amidst all the happy couples. Sakura knew it was weird, but she hadn't felt as happy as she did right then in a long, long time.

…


	31. The Last Disaster

_Disclaimer: _I don't own CCS, or the song 'Drops of Jupiter' by Train.

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty-One_

_The Last Disaster_

After dancing to four songs in a row, Sakura insisted that she and Syaoran come off the dancefloor. Sakura had spotted Yelan standing chatting to Wei, Sonomi and Fujitaka in a dark, cool corner far from the dancefloor. She yanked Syaoran's hand and pointed to them, he nodded in understanding and they made their way silently and together to the group of four.

When they reached them, Sakura smiled and tapped Yelan gently on the shoulder. The elegant older woman didn't jump, even though she hadn't spotted Sakura coming towards them. Yelan turned around slowly, smiling enigmatically at her daughter-in-law.

"Yes, dearest daughter-in-law?" she said pleasantly. Sakura smiled.

"I just wanted to say thanks for fixing the cake fiasco," she explained. Yelan's smile lost all of its mystery as it widened to what could only be called a delighted beam.

"Ah, no problem," Yelan said, waving her hand as if she had only done a small, simple thing. However, Sakura knew that Yelan could see that the bride was genuinely sincere in her gratitude. And, Sakura could see that Yelan was flattered by Sakura's heartfelt thanks.

"How did you do it, Mother?" Syaoran asked.

"Oh, it wasn't difficult, really," Yelan said airily, taking a delicate sip of her drink. "I heard that my dear daughter was having problems with that dreadful bakery -" here Yelan pulled a face of utter distaste, as if it was disgraceful of the bakery to _dare _mess with her darling 'daughter''s big day - " so I simply called the Li mansion and had our catering staff whip up that cake."

Here Yelan smiled again.

"And wasn't it lovely? See, I knew that our catering staff only had to have the cake ready by the time of the reception dinner, which gave them hours, as I managed to contact them before the ceremony even started. And, really, they are a very gifted bunch of people."

Sakura nodded.

"Yes, it was a beautiful cake, everyone thought so," she agreed. At that point, sensing that his daughter was done talking to Yelan, Fujitaka drew his daughter away to speak with him. Sakura left Syaoran to talk to his mother as she walked over to converse with her father and Sonomi.

"Things are going well, aren't they, Syaoran dear?" Yelan asked her son when Sakura was out of earshot, smiling as she took a sip of her drink. Syaoran blushed.

"Yes," he answered succinctly.

"All those dancing lessons I forced you to take with Meiling paid off in the end," she said. Her smile widened when Syaoran pulled a face.

"Meiling and I really hated taking those," he felt it necessary to point out.

"Ah, but your mother always knows best," she said, patting her son on the shoulder. Syaoran rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"It's been a wonderful day, hasn't it?" Yelan remarked. Syaoran blinked - he could have sworn his mother's eyes were watering, but how could that be? Why would she -

"Mother?" he asked uncertainly. She must have read his worried expression correctly, for she shook her head and forced a smile.

"Just being silly," she said.

"It's - It's Father, isn't it?" he asked, his voice quieter and more timid than he had originally intended.

Still with that fake smile, Yelan said, "maybe."

She turned back to look at all the happy couples revolving to a slow number on the floor.

Syaoran reached out a hand and laid it on her shoulder.

"You don't have to pretend to be so strong," he said to her back.

Syaoran swallowed, hard, to keep his emotions in check.

"I - I miss him too. I wish he could have been here, too."

"Oh, Syaoran," Yelan said, the smile now small and regretful, but honest as she turned back to him, tears now definite in her eyes. "I miss him so much. I wish he could have seen you like this, so grown-up, so handsome, so happy, so… In love."

She raised a pale hand to rest it on his cheek and her eyes looked into his. She managed to uphold her smile.

"You look so much like him," she said. "I know you never really knew him, but you look just like he did when I first met him."

Her fingers moved to make a fist of air, her fingernails just grazing Syaoran's skin, as she clenched nothing. Her eyes moved to look at the fist she had made against his cheek.

"I loved him so much…"

Then she heaved a sigh and her eyes moved to look into his again.

"I hope Sakura is never taken from you," she said, a slight sheen of desperation in her eyes. "I would never wish loss like mine upon another person. And I love you so, so much, Syaoran. I know losing her would destroy you, and I couldn't bear to see you hurt. So hold on to her, Syaoran. Cherish her every moment you have together, because you never know when you just might lose -"

Yelan stopped then and turned quickly away from her son. Even though there was no hint of a sob, and her shoulders didn't cave in, and her regal posture didn't even falter, Syaoran knew she was crying. Yelan cried silently, always - after all, it would hardly be dignified for her to snort and choke her way through it.

Syaoran moved to stand beside his mother, looking out onto the dancefloor as she was doing. He put his arm around her shoulder. His mother's hand was to her mouth, but he could see her smile through her tears.

"They look happy, don't they?" she said, looking out at the happy couples and children dancing.

"They do," Syaoran agreed, and they simply stood there, silently, together.

Eventually, Yelan heaved a snuffly sigh, and said, "oh, Syaoran dear, I was keeping you from Sakura!"

Syaoran shook his head.

"It's okay, Mother."

He opened his mouth to say something else after a considering pause, but Yelan shook her head and he closed his mouth again.

"Don't worry about me, Xiao," she said, using her nickname for him. She patted him gently on the shoulder.

"Mother, I… Well, about Father… He's… Here," Syaoran said, stumbling over the words. Then he shook his head and spoke again, determined to make himself clear.

"I mean, I know it sounds insane, but I really feel like –"

Yelan silenced him by placing a long, elegant, pale finger against his lips. Her eyes were warm with the soft smile on her face.

"I know. I understand. I can feel him here, too. I know he's watching, and I know he's very proud of you, just as I am."

…

"Are you okay?" Sakura asked her husband when they were together again. She looked concerned, and Syaoran felt an odd flutter in his chest at the sight of her jade-green eyes holding worry for him. He firmly pushed the flutter aside, but still didn't speak.

"It's just that your mother and you looked pretty intense when you were talking, and she was crying, and I just –" she continued timidly, eyes straying towards her feet. She was clearly embarrassed to be what she obviously considered to be 'snooping in other people's business'. After she trailed off, however, she bravely looked at him in the eye, wrenching her gaze from the apparently fascinating ground.

"I was worried," she admitted. Syaoran pretended to look shocked.

"Wow! Li Sakura worried over little old _me_? I feel so unworthy!" he teased. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You know, I may be married to you now, but that doesn't mean I won't refrain from kicking your ass when you deserve it," she said in all seriousness.

Now, Syaoran raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? Forgive me, dearest, if I say that I don't see your little self kicking my ass anytime soon."

…

"Ow, Sakura, that _hurts_!"

It seems Sakura took offense at that comment.

…

"Okay… Everything's set up!" Tomoyo said excitedly to Sakura. Syaoran watched, rolling his eyes as the two women giggled hysterically.

"What have you two been drinking?" he asked.

Now, Tomoyo rolled her eyes.

"Nothing much. Can't you just see that we're pleased to be doing something about Lei-san and Naoko-chan ?" she asked.

Syaoran sighed.

"You know, I thought Sakura had forgotten about her threat to 'sort them out'," he mused out loud. Sakura flashed him a grin that Syaoran thought made it obvious that Sakura had been at the sake. Because Sakura certainly never grinned at him like that when she was completely sober.

"We're not _sorting them out_, as you so inelegantly put it, dear Syaoran. We are simply acting as _catalysts_," Sakura protested, with a hint of a pout. Syaoran raised an eyebrow at this interesting development –_had she just called him __**dear**__?_

"Well, I'm not sure I approve, but as long nobody gets hurt, you two can have your fun," he said.

Suddenly, he looked worried.

"Wait – what have you two got up your sleeves?" he asked, sounding slightly panicked. Sakura was usually very sensible, but she had at least been loosened-up by whatever alcohol she had consumed, and Tomoyo-san…

Well, she was just plain scary.

Sakura winked conspirationally.

"Oh, don't worry so, Syaoran," she said, waving her hand. "We haven't planned anything scary – I exercised some control over Tomoyo."

"Well, what do you have in mind?" he asked, still wary.

"Well, have you been keeping an eye on Lei-san and Naoko-chan?" Sakura asked.

"I haven't been watching them constantly all night, but I have been looking over at them now and then," he said with a shrug.

"In case you hadn't noticed, Lei-san and Naoko-chan have been standing talking to Yamazaki-kun, Chiharu-chan, Rika-chan and Terada-sensei for most of the night. At different points, the two other couples have gone off to dance. Whenever that happened, Lei-san and Naoko-chan have just stood, clutching their drinks, looking awkward and sort of giving each other nervous, tentative smiles," Sakura began to explain.

Tomoyo finished with, "but they obviously both wanted to ask the other to dance, so we requested that the DJ put Naoko-chan's favourite song next, so she wouldn't be able to resist."

The two of them looked extremely proud of themselves. Syaoran, while glad that they hadn't anything more sinister up their sleeves, was still skeptical about the chances of this plan working.

"And you really think that'll work?" Syaoran asked. Sakura looked mildly annoyed.

"Yes. You just watch it work, Li Syaoran!" she said, a challenging glint in her eyes, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, and I have to go for a second. I'll be back!" Tomoyo said quickly, waving them a farewell as she disappeared into the people and out of sight.

"Don't drink too much, Sakura," Syaoran seized her wrist and pulled her to him to murmur the warning into her ear. Now she definitely looked annoyed.

"I have honestly only had ONE GLASS of sake!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Syaoran asked, taken aback by this information. "It's just, I expected that you had had more, because you're so…"

"What?" Sakura prompted him.

"So much more relaxed, I guess," he finished, swinging his arms at his sides and shrugging mid-swing.

Sakura had to laugh at that.

"What do you expect?" she asked. "I've just made it through the _worst _morning I think I've ever had and all the stress of the wedding is nearly over. Did you expect me to get _tenser_?"

She paused for a second.

"Besides," she said, staring out at all their guests with a soft smile, "they look so happy. And that makes me happy, you know?"

She turned to him and kept smiling. She smiled so much that her eyes threatened to be eaten up by her cheeks. Syaoran laughed gently and brushed one of her cheeks softly with his knuckle.

"I'm glad you're happy," he said sincerely.

Sakura simply looked up at him for a long, long moment, and he kept brushing her cheek ever so gently, then slowly, gradually, his finger stopped moving and he was just _looking _at her, and the look in his eyes was so strange, and he was leaning down so slowly, and she knew what was coming and she should stop it but she _couldn't _and he must surely have put a spell on her with those amber eyes of his because she couldn't stop her eyes from closing and…

…

Daidouji-san, Lei observed, seemed to have a rather disconcerting habit of popping up behind people unexpectedly. In fact, when she tapped him on the shoulder from behind, he started so violently that half his drink sloshed out over the sides of his glass.

Really, it was rather fortunate that Naoko wasn't there at the time, or he would have been severely embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry, Lei!" Tomoyo exclaimed, and she genuinely looked it, too.

"That's okay," Lei said, even though it wasn't, really.

"Yanagisawa-san is in the bathroom, if you're looking for her," he added, feeling certain that that was what she wanted.

Therefore, he was thoroughly confused when she shook her head in a manner that could only be described as impatient.

"Actually, Lei-san, I waited until Naoko-chan was in the bathroom before I came to talk to you," she said.

There must have been something funny about the look in her eyes, for Lei's face immediately adopted a panicked expression.

"No offense, Daidouji-san, but I've already been hit on a couple of times today, and although you're really beautiful and all, I really don't need you to –" he began, faltering, wearing a pained but forced-polite smile.

Tomoyo tried to resist the urge to smack him upside the head, and failed.

"Ow," Lei complained, rubbing the painful spot on his head and making a face at her, as she had caused him to slop more of his drink out of the glass and onto the richly-carpeted floor.

"That," Tomoyo explained, "is for _daring _to suggest that I am not perfectly happy with Eriol, and also because I know… Well, I know… Things. Anyway, I was just looking for you to request that you do something. And believe me when I say that it would be in your best interests to comply," she explained.

Lei raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, and do I get punished if I don't 'comply'?" he asked. Tomoyo snorted.

"Yeah, but not the way you're thinking. Anyway, it's really simple – all you have to do is ask Naoko-chan to dance with you to this next song."

Lei blushed.

"Oh, I don't know…" he began, fiddling with a loose thread on his jacket and refusing to look at Tomoyo. Tomoyo rolled her eyes and prayed to various gods to give her strength.

"Look, are you a man or a mouse?" she asked, hands on her hips. "Besides, I know you've been wanting to ask her all evening – Sakura-chan and I just decided to give you a – _prod_, shall we say – in the right direction."

"And what's so particular about this next song?" Lei asked, his brown eyes finally meeting Tomoyo's, but there was uncertainty, still, in them, even if his gaze was slightly challenging.

"I dare say," Tomoyo said, a smile quirking her lips – but then, it could have been a smirk, "that Naoko-chan shall tell you herself."

She was looking behind Lei, and focusing on something that was coming towards them.

"Now, I do believe that dearest Naoko-chan is approaching us, so I shall have to make my exit. Remember what I said," Tomoyo said finally, waving back to him as she disappeared from his sight again. Lei stood, shaking his head after her.

"Did you have a nice chat with Tomoyo-chan?" Naoko-chan enquired from behind him. Lei turned to her, looking slightly perplexed.

"Not – not really," he answered.

…

Syaoran was still, Sakura realised slowly, coming towards her and she was just waiting…

When her father popped up and promptly ruined the mood. Sakura jumped violently and flushed practically purple at having almost been caught kissing Syaoran by her father. She couldn't explain it, because Fujitaka had observed them as they kissed at the front of the church, and it wasn't really wrong at all, as they were husband and wife.

Nevertheless, Sakura snapped out of her almost dream-like state and pushed him away. Syaoran blinked when she did that – clearly he had been about as aware of things as Sakura had at that moment.

Sakura closed her eyes, screwing them up rather more than was necessary, and pinched the bridge of her nose. She really would have to get her hormones under control – she wasn't some teenage schoolgirl or something! She should be able to stop herself from kissing him. However, when he _looked _at her like that, and his eyes went all sort of _warm _and almost longing…

She couldn't help herself, and that was frightening. It was only a _look _after all – it shouldn't be able to make her throw all common sense out the window like it did. She shook her head and opened her eyes.

"Yes, 'tou-san?" Sakura asked politely, smiling at her father. Her father was looking apologetic.

"Sorry for interrupting," he said, with something akin to a wince on his face. Whether he was uncomfortable at having caught his daughter in a situation like that – it was perfectly possible that Fujitaka had simply blocked out the idea of Sakura and Syaoran ever acting like a married couple, and all that entailed.

Or it could be that he was genuinely sorry for interrupting.

For some reason, that possibility scared her a little.

"It's just that I wanted to –" he began, but then Naoko's favourite song began to play, and Sakura immediately stood up straighter.

"'Tou-san, is this particularly important?" she asked, looking miserable that she had to cut him off. "Can it wait?"

Fujitaka smiled like the gentle, kind, forgiving man he was, and said, "of course it can wait. I'll see you when you're done with what you're about to do."

Sakura beamed and kissed her father on the cheek.

"Thank you, 'tou-san, this is important to me. Syaoran and I will be back soon, I promise!"

And with that hurried but bubbly goodbye, she grabbed Syaoran's hand and tugged him along with her to wherever they were going.

Fujitaka smiled after them and fingered the letter in his pocket.

…

Lei supposed that this was the song that Daidouji-san had requested he dance to with Naoko. As it started up, he looked at his hands and listened while their four companions excused themselves to do various things. Lei supposed that Daidouji-san had briefed them on her plan, too.

When they were gone, Lei swallowed and looked up at Naoko.

"Would you –" he began, before he broke off. He had a horrible feeling that he was blushing.

"Yes?" Naoko prompted him, looking curious.

"Would you… Like to dance with me?" By the time he had finished his sentence his voice had trailed off into an unintelligible mumble, and his gaze was drawn back to his hands as they clasped his glass.

Naoko cocked an eyebrow.

"I beg your pardon?" she asked politely. Lei sighed, annoyed at himself. If he didn't hurry up then the song would be over by the time they got on to the dancefloor!

He wrenched his gaze from his hands and met her brown eyes with his.

"Would you like to dance?" he asked.

…

_- Now that she's back in the atmosphere With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey She acts like summer and walks like rain Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey Since the return of her stay on the moon She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey_ _-_

"And _that_," Sakura whispered to Syaoran as they watched Lei and Naoko walk together onto the dancefloor, "is what you _might _call 'mission accomplished'."

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so your plan worked – there's no need to rub it in. I was wrong. Although, I'm not sure the choice of song actually had much to do with it – I have a feeling that it was Tomoyo-san's unique methods of 'persuasion', in other words, _intimidation_, which got the job done."

Sakura smiled.

"You're probably right," she said. "But still, don't they look happy?"

Syaoran had to admit that they did. They were slow-dancing rather close and Lei looked like he was glad he obeyed Tomoyo-san.

_- But tell me, did you sail across the sun Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded_

_And that heaven is overrated –_

Syaoran's eyes strayed to Sakura, standing beside him, watching Lei and Naoko, and looking, quite frankly, blissful, her green eyes sparkling.

"She acts like summer and she walks like rain… She listens like spring and she talks like June…" Syaoran sang under his breath. Really, when it came to Sakura, that was true.

"Sakura," he said, on impulse, "would you like to –"

He didn't even get to finish his sentence when Sakura interrupted, smiling.

"Dance? You read my mind! I was wondering when you were going to ask me!" she said, laughing.

…

_- Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star One without a permanent scar_

_And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there –_

"Nice work, Tomoyo," Eriol said, smiling as he kissed his fiancées forehead. She looked happy.

"Well, it worked, at least," she said, and her violet eyes were on Lei and Naoko as they revolved slowly.

"Tell me, Tomoyo, would you give me the honor of –" Eriol began, grinning, until Tomoyo rolled her eyes and placed one of her fingers over his lips.

"Of course I will, you idiot! But let's stay over here, in this corner. The dancefloor is sort of crowded," she explained.

Eriol bowed low and held his hand out to her, and Tomoyo accepted it, telling him to stop being so silly. They began to sway slowly, but their quiet moment together was interrupted by a panicking Chiharu.

When they saw their friend run towards them, panting, they stopped immediately and hurried over to her.

"Chiharu-chan, what's _wrong_?" Tomoyo asked, grabbing the other woman's hand. Chiharu shook her head as she tried to get her breath back.

"It's – it's Rika-chan. I think she's going into labour."

…


	32. The Best Dressed People In The A&E

Disclaimer: CCS is not mine, and neither is the song used in Nadeshiko's letter in this chapter.

Butterflies

Chapter Thirty-Two

The Best-Dressed People In The A&E

To say that Tomoyo panicked would be an understatement.

"Chiharu-chan," she said, violet eyes wide and horrified as she grasped Chiharu's shoulders rather harder than was necessary, "you're not serious, are you?"

Chiharu was in so much shock herself that she didn't even say that of course she wasn't joking; she wouldn't joke about such a thing – that would just be sick.

She simply said, "not a joke, Tomoyo-chan."

Tomoyo let go of Chiharu's shoulders and put her hands on her own head, twisting twin handfuls of her long hair into her fists.

"This is the worst possible time!"

Eriol and Chiharu watched, looking rather worried themselves as Tomoyo began to walk around in agitated circles.

"Tomoyo, dear…" Eriol said finally, holding out a hand in a gesture that he hoped was calming.

Tomoyo stopped circling, but didn't even look at Eriol's outstretched hand.

"Where is she?" Tomoyo demanded, so suddenly and sharply that Eriol and Chiharu jumped.

"In the ladies' room," Chiharu said when she had recovered.

At this, Tomoyo's eyes widened so much that they threatened to fall out of their sockets. She released the handfuls of hair and brought her hands back to her sides. Her hair was sticking up like a bird's nest and with her widened eyes she looked ever so slightly insane.

Eriol and Chiharu would have found the sight funny, if they weren't panicking and also genuinely scared of Tomoyo.

"Did you leave her there, Chiharu-chan?" Tomoyo screeched. Chiharu winced and actually shrank back from Tomoyo.

"I didn't know what else to do!" she wailed in her defense. "She started saying something about contractions, and they were getting worse, and okay, I admit it – I panicked. I ran out here to find help."

"So you're saying that you left her there, HAVING CONTRATIONS BY HERSELF?" Tomoyo screeched in that same hysterical monotone.

Chiharu cowered.

"Yes! I'm sorry!" she burst out, eyes screwed up and shut tightly. When Tomoyo didn't shout again after a few seconds, she cautiously opened one eye.

Tomoyo was trying to breathe regularly in an attempt to calm down.

"Go. Get. Her. Now." Tomoyo ordered. Chiharu nodded frantically and hurried away.

"And for God's sake, be careful on those stairs! Don't rush her!" Tomoyo called after Chiharu's rapidly disappearing back.

Tomoyo turned to Eriol.

"In the space of this one day, I believe I have aged ten years," she said to him. He smiled.

"At least we'll be able to say that it was certainly a day to remember!"

…

"'Tou-san!" Sakura exclaimed when she found her father, standing by himself in a corner, looking like he was searching for someone. "I was looking for you!"

Fujitaka smiled at her and said, "where's Syaoran-kun?"

"Bathroom," Sakura explained succinctly. Fujitaka nodded.

"That's good – I thought you might want to get this by yourself."

Sakura looked perplexed.

"Get what, 'Tou-san?" she asked. Fujitaka's smile gained perhaps a tiny melancholic tinge as he reached into his pocket.

"This letter – it's what I wanted to talk to you about before," he said as he handed the envelope to her. Sakura's brow furrowed, and she smiled in the manner that a confused person always does, as if to say 'you know what? I really don't get this, and I'm actually doubting the sanity of what you're saying.'

Sakura noticed that her father's eyes were oddly shiny as he said, "open it. It's for you."

For the first time, Sakura looked at the envelope. It was a very pretty thing – pink, and decorated with beautiful drawings of the most perfect, delicate Sakuras, so well-drawn that they looked like they belonged in the real world, on a tree touching a perfect blue sky, or kissing the ground as a child threw them into the air, laughing joyously all the while.

On the envelope was written, in beautiful, curling cursive, 'To my daughter, the most beautiful, most precious Sakura on the tree.'

Sakura's breath hitched in her throat and she looked up at her father, as if to say 'you're kidding me, right? Am I really holding this? Is it really for me? Did she really write it for me?'

Her father nodded in answer to her unspoken questions and said again, "open it."

With shaking hands, and tears filling her eyes already, she tore the envelope open gently and reverently, loathe to rip it. Inside was a letter, written in that same beautiful handwriting that she would know anywhere.

The pale pink stationary was decorated with drawings of fields of flowers, peach blossoms, Sakuras, Nadeshikos dancing together (around a tall, strong oak tree, apparently symbolising Fujitaka) under a perfect blue sky.

In a corner of the paper there was a picture of the sky at night, myriad stars shining together in a velvet night of infinite blackness. She had been fascinated by the stars when she was three, about the same time her mother died, and she still loved the night sky, even now.

Then, in another corner, there was a gorgeous drawing of 'Princess Sakura's castle', glorious in all its pink detail. And, on the back of the second sheet, there was a drawing of a three-year-old Sakura, animated and bright, green eyes sparkling as she pointed at something. There was a note written under the drawing that said, 'In case you don't remember, you were pointing at a little bird you saw in the garden.'

Her mother had been a particularly gifted artist. Sakura felt tears begin to spill ever-so-slightly over the boundaries of her eyes. It was a few seconds of wiping before she could see enough to read the words.

My Sakura, my only memories of you are as a three-year-old, beautiful and cheerful, and full of love and joy. I can see you running, always, in my dreams, honey-coloured pigtails bouncing and you're holding out your hand to me and calling me to come and play with you. I wish I could. Oh, Sakura, I wish I could get off this horrid hospital bed and come play.

Sakura's eyes were watering again, but this time she let them. Never mind that she had to squint past the blurring to read the words.

But I can't, and I'm not going to get all down about that. Instead, I'm going to do something practical. I'm writing you this letter, and it's so strange, because the three-year-old you is lying on the end of my bed, fast asleep, and here I am, writing to a you who is so many years in the future.

I don't know how old you are now, but I know you're married, because I asked your father to give this to you on your wedding day. And no matter what age you are, I'm sure you have different interests than when you were a three-year-old. I'm sure you've made the transition from dreaming about unicorns and rainbows to worrying about your job, and I'm sorry I haven't been around to see it.

Oh, Sakura, I don't know how to say what I need to say. I knew this would be hard, but I didn't truly appreciate how hard. I love you more than words can say, and if I could find a way to keep myself from having to leave you, I would.

But I trust that the men in your life, Touya and Fujitaka, will look after you and watch over you like the precious treasure you are. Touya is here now; just watching you sleep, marvelling in the rise and fall of your little chest. If he ever gives you a hard time in the future, know that really he loves you dearly. He adores you.

At three years old, Sakura, I used to sing the same lullaby to you every night – it was your favourite lullaby, the only thing that would get you to sleep without fail. Maybe you even have memories of me singing it to you.

Sakura smiled. One of her few memories of her mother was indeed being sung to.

The words go like this:

kumo wa nagarete'ru kaze wa utaidasu

itsumo hashitte'ta kono michi no soba de

ima mo shiroi hana ga saite waratte iru

demo tomaranai mune ga tsumaru hodo

ima ga daisuki de dakedo sugite-yuku

sore wa mukashi naita yume no kakera no you

fuwafuwa to ukabu yasuragi mo

namida koboreru fuan mo

daiji na mirai ni tsunagatte-iru

hazu dakara

ashita ni natte mo

itsuka otona ni natte mo

kitto omoidashite ne

anata ga koko ni ita koto

wasurenai de ite

hiroi sekai no hate de mo

zutto kienai ima wo

arigatou

tsuki wa terashite'ru kaze wa nemutte'ru

itsumo waratte'ta kono machi no sora de

ima mo nagareboshi ga negai kanaete iru

demo wakaranai toki ga sugiru hodo

hanaretaku nakute dakedo tooku naru

sore wa kinou yonda hon no shiori no you

kirakira to hikaru akogare mo

donna kanashii kimochi mo

daiji na mirai ni tsunagatte-iru

hazu dakara

kisetsu ga sugite mo

dokoka shiranai machi de mo

kitto hirogatte-iku

minna ga koko ni ita koto

wasurenai de ite

chiisa na kono basho kara

sotto hajimatta koto

arigatou

yume wo noseta kuni wa

kioku kara tabidatsu

mata aeru yo

ima wa hohoende

itsumade tatte mo

dokoka tooku e itte mo

kitto shirasete hoshii

watashi ga koko ni ita koto

wasurenai de ite

hiroi sekai no dokodemo

zutto kienai omoi

arigatou

(The clouds are floating by... The wind is singing

Even now, along the streets I always used to run along,

white flowers are blooming and smiling.

But it's unstoppable. It chokes me up inside

I love the present, but it will always pass...

It's just like a fragment of the dream I cried over long ago

The serenity that floats by like a fluffy white cloud

And the worries that make my tears spill over

are both connected to the precious future,

so...

Even when tomorrow comes

Even when someday I become an adult

I'm sure I'll always remember.

that you were here with me.

I'll never forget,

even when I'm in the very ends of this vast world.

For this moment that will never disappear,

I thank you.

The moon is shining down. The wind is sleeping.

In the sky above that always smiles down on this town,

even now shooting stars are granting wishes.

But I don't understand... I don't want us to ever part

for as long as time passes, but we end up being far apart

It's just like the bookmark in the book I read yesterday.

My longing to shine like the twinkling stars

And my feelings, however sad they may be,

are both connected to the precious future,

so...

Even when the seasons pass,

even if it's in some unfamiliar place somewhere

I'm sure the future is unfolding.

I'll never forget

that you were all here with me.

For what has quietly begun

from this little place,

I thank you.

The land where we rode our dreams

set forth from our memories

We'll meet again.

For now, please smile...

Even if it's for a long long time...

Even if you go off far away somewhere

I definitely want you to keep in touch.

Don't forget

that I was here with you...

no matter where you are in this vast world.

For these feelings that will never disappear,

I thank you.)

Oh my darling, some things in this world are indeed prophetic, aren't they? And as I sing that song to you now, I can feel the words better than I ever could, because I'm leaving you, and I know how the person in this song felt.

Oh dear, I'm getting melancholy again, aren't I? Let's focus on happier things. Today is your wedding day, and from wherever I am, I am so happy for you and so proud. I hope you and your special person are as happy as your father and I are. I hope that you can always be together.

Darling, keep that smile on your face and don't ever give in. Hold on tightly to the things that make you happy and live every day with that sparkle in your eyes Life is a precious, fragile thing. I know that now. Take the time to smell the flowers, feel the breeze caress your face, and seize the day. If you love someone, tell them, for a lifetime of 'what ifs' and 'what-might-have-beens' is not a life at all.

I love you, Sakura, and my dearest wish for you is to have all the joy in the world in your life. I never want that optimistic, beautiful smile to slip from your face.

And always remember that you will forever be my little girl, the only Sakura on the tree who is made of gold.

Her mother had signed off the letter by drawing a small Nadeshiko under the last line. Sakura's cheeks were completely soaked, slick and shining, when she looked back up at her father.

…

Tomoyo had sent Eriol to find and notify Terada-sensei, Sakura, Syaoran, Naoko and whoever else that he deemed required to go to the hospital. Tomoyo was with Rika, and she had sent Chiharu to notify people as well, so that the job was split between the two of them, and it hopefully wouldn't take as long.

…

"I miss her, 'Tou-san," Sakura said. "But I'm happy to have this letter. She knows that I love her too, doesn't she, 'Tou-san?"

She looked up at her father with suddenly worried eyes. He was quick to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Of course she does," he said, and Sakura smiled.

"I'm sorry the letter upset you," Fujitaka went on, sounding concerned. "Perhaps I should have waited until later to give it to you."

Sakura shook her head violently at that, clutching the letter to her heart as she did so.

"No, 'Tou-san, I'm so, so happy to have this link with her," Sakura said, her eyes shining. "Thank you for keeping this letter so carefully all these years for me."

"She would have said so much more," Fujitaka said, the look in his eyes strangely far-away, "I'm sure, if she hadn't died the day she'd finished that letter."

His eyes were suddenly focused again as he snapped back to the present, giving her a sad little smile.

"She finished writing it in the morning, and she died that afternoon. She wrapped it up as quickly as she could, for she could feel that she was going, she said."

"Then I am truly lucky," Sakura said softly.

"Sakura-san!" came a frantic voice from behind them. Sakura and her father whirled around quickly to see who had called, Sakura still clutching the letter to her heart, her face still wet.

"Oh," Eriol said, upon seeing Sakura's slightly red eyes. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

He sounded embarrassed, and Sakura took pity on him.

"Not at all," she replied, wiping her eyes and smiling. Then suddenly she was serious and worried again. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Well…." Eriol began sheepishly.

…

Sakura took the news much more calmly than Tomoyo had. She had simply blinked, said, "right. Okay." And asked where Rika was.

Eriol had told her, then she said, "okay. I'm going to go tell Yelan to keep an eye on everyone who is still here at the reception, and to tell people where Syaoran and I are if they ask for us. Then I'll head over and meet Rika and Tomoyo, and I'll arrange for everyone to get to the hospital."

Then she had hurried off, calm as can be, an outstanding contrast to how she had been that morning.

Eriol had blinked after her, stunned. Perhaps she had been through so much that day that nothing was going to shock her anymore?

…

Around five minutes later, during which Rika's contractions had gotten stronger and more regular, everyone who felt they had to accompany the parents-to-be to the hospital was assembled together.

"Okay, there are seven of us, so we'll need to take two cars," Tomoyo calculated speedily, as quick-thinking as ever.

"We can take my car, for one," Syaoran said. Tomoyo nodded.

"Okay, and we can take Eriol's, too. Naoko, Sakura and Syaoran can go in Syaoran's car, and Rika, Terada-sensei, Eriol and I can go in Eriol's."

Everyone nodded and, having been briefed on their mission by their unofficial commander, split up and headed for the hotel's parking lot.

…

"This," Sakura said after they had been driving for five minutes or so, "has been the weirdest day."

Syaoran smiled.

"Haven't you enjoyed it?" he asked. Sakura had to smile back at him.

"I can't say it hasn't been memorable. And, I do, actually, think I've enjoyed it. The commotion has been so manic that you can't help but get swept up in it, and it's kind of fun getting all panicked. Every day certainly isn't this exciting!

"Amen," Naoko said seriously.

…

"I don't know where we are," Syaoran admitted a few minutes later. Sakura frowned and battled with the huge map she had in her lap, which didn't seem to want to lie flat at all.

"This is hopeless," she sighed, looking down at the map and squinting, as if to see if that would make it any easier to understand.

It didn't.

"Syaoran-san, you need to decide which way to go at this junction," Naoko prompted from her seat in the back. Syaoran made a frustrated growl in the back of his throat at that.

"But I don't know which way to go – that's the problem!" he exclaimed, looking into the dark street in front of him, which was lit only by dim streetlamps.

"Then guess," Naoko suggested, "and if we figure out it's the wrong turn later on, well, we'll double back or something."

Although it wasn't an ideal solution, it was the only one, and so they took a quick vote and unanimously decided to turn right.

"Is it just me or do we seem to be getting further away from the main road we're supposed to be following?" Sakura asked, frowning at the map and trying to decipher the confusing criss-cross of blue, yellow, red and endless other colored lines.

Syaoran's brow creased.

"Which road are we supposed to be following?" he asked.

"This thick blue one," Sakura answered, pointing to it as Syaoran glanced over momentarily.

"I think," she added, wincing.

"We've got to pull over," Naoko said, sighing. "Driving in some random direction isn't going to solve anything. We're just going to keep getting further away from the route we're supposed to be on and becoming steadily more lost."

Syaoran didn't look like he considered that to be an option, and kept driving.

"Syaoran," Sakura began, hoping she sounded persuasive, "Naoko-chan's right, we've got to stop. We're lost; there's no escaping it. We'll just have to ask someone for directions."

At that, Syaoran's grip tightened on the wheel.

"No directions," he said firmly. Sakura had to roll her eyes.

"Oh please, don't tell me you're going to do that typical male thing and refuse to admit you're lost and also be stupidly stubborn and say we're not asking anyone for directions," she said.

"I'll put it this way – we're not lost, so we don't need directions," he replied, his gaze determinedly on the road.

"Syaoran," Sakura said, a little more firmly – the change in her voice was subtle, but definitely there – she wasn't going to drive around without knowing where to aim for anymore. "You're being silly. Look, if it bothers you that much, I will ask for directions. That way, your manly pride won't be dented or whatever."

"Sakura," Syaoran said, surprisingly gently, "let me keep trying to find the place. If we're not there in five minutes, I promise we can stop and ask for directions. Have a little faith in me, okay?"

…

Within five minutes, they had pulled up outside Azumano Hospital.

"That," Naoko had to admit as they got out of the car, "was quite amazing."

Sakura snorted.

"Nothing amazing about it," she replied. "When it comes to a guy protecting his ego, he'll suddenly acquire incredible powers."

"Actually," Syaoran replied, smiling good-naturedly, "I'd like to think it was my natural fantastic sense of direction."

Sakura patted him on the arm and smiled mock-patronisingly.

"You just keep on thinking that, Honey."

…

They had suddenly gained a sense of urgency as they crossed the parking lot, and by the time they reached the room they had been directed to (by a very frightened receptionist, as Sakura had barked their situation at her) they were quite breathless.

"What did we miss? What did we miss?" the three of them demanded as they skidded around the corner, and into a room filled with people clutching various wounds.

"Nothing much," Eriol, who was the first person in the row of hideous orange chairs now in front of the three newcomers, said. "They took Rika-san and Terada-san into that room –" he indicated a room to their left – "and said we had to stay out here, in the A&E waiting room."

"Oh," Sakura said, feeling quite deflated as she sank into a seat beside Tomoyo. The excitement of the latest disaster had worn off, and now she was feeling quite tired.

"And now we wait," Syaoran said, as he settled into the chair on Sakura's other side. Sakura blinked at that.

"Oh, I forgot that we could be here for hours and hours," she said. "I hope Yelan will be okay taking care of the reception while we're gone."

"I dare say she'll be fine," Syaoran said.

It was only at that moment that the party realised all the other people in the waiting room were staring at them.

"Syaoran," Sakura said under her breath, "is it just me, or are they –"

"Staring? Yeah," Syaoran interrupted, "I wonder why."

"Uh, you guys," Tomoyo said dryly, "that might be because we're all dressed in wedding attire."

"Oh!" Sakura laughed sheepishly.

She had to admit, in their dresses and tuxes, they were certainly the best-dressed people in the A&E.

…


	33. Snow

_Disclaimer: _CCS is not mine. Sakura and Syaoran's wedding gift inspired by My Big Fat Greek Wedding (but pretty twisted, obviously).

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty-Three_

_Snow_

"Ah, look, it's snowing!" Tomoyo whispered, hands clasped under her chin as she looked dreamily out the window at the snowflakes fluttering slowly, delicately towards the ground.

She turned away from the window and back to her companions.

"Should we wake her?" she asked Syaoran. Syaoran placed a hand on Sakura's head before shaking his own.

"Iie. Let her sleep. Today has been very stressful for her," he said quietly. She was lying snuggled into his side, her head lay on his shoulder and her breath tickled the skin of his neck when she breathed. Her chest rose and fell steadily as she breathed deeply, her eyes moving occasionally behind her eyelids.

Not that he was watching her, or anything.

"Ah, Syaoran-kun," Tomoyo said, a teasing smile curving her lips, "I think you just want her to keep sleeping so that you can have her near you."

She expected to receive an angry and/or spluttering protest to that remark, but Syaoran instead nuzzled his cheek into Sakura's soft hair and closed his eyes, murmuring, "well, I must admit, it's nice to be able to get close to her without her resisting."

He paused.

"However," he said, his eyes still closed, a smile spreading over his face, "I know exactly what she'd say if she _was _awake – 'Ah, Tomoyo-chan, Syaoran, look, it's snowing! Kirei ne!'

He chuckled.

Tomoyo's heart stopped.

He didn't… He _couldn't_… It would be so horrible if he did! However, she had to admit that the sight of the two of them warmed her heart. Perhaps letting the inevitable happen wouldn't be so bad…

But then she could see Sakura's face that day as she wept, shut up in the bathroom of the home she and Tomoyo shared, trying to hide because she didn't want Tomoyo to see her pain…

And her fists clenched at her sides. But how to stop this subtly, without Sakura or Syaoran noticing her intent? She didn't know how, she didn't know how to protect her best friend. All she could do was sit back and watch .

And that made her feel helpless.

"Eriol and Naoko-chan sure have been a long time getting that coffee, haven't they?" she forced the laugh in her voice, determined to sound normal.

"Mmm," Syaoran murmured non-commitally, and Tomoyo suspected that he was falling asleep himself.

Outside, the snow continued to fall.

…

Eriol and Naoko, it transpired, had become lost on their mission to locate a coffee vending machine.

"You'd _think_," Eriol said grumpily as he handed Tomoyo her strong black coffee, "that a place like this would have coffee machines all over the damn place! I mean, this is a hospital – people need to stay awake in hospitals, and coffee contains caffeine!"

Tomoyo had to fight to hold in her giggle at her fiancés expression, but she figured the struggle was worth it, as she _really _didn't think that he would see the funny side right at that moment.

" But _no_, poor Naoko-chan and I had to walk _all over __**seven **__floors_ to find one!" he continued.

Tomoyo knew that she really couldn't giggle, and so, to help stop herself, she took a hurried gulp of her coffee.

Eriol sighed.

"Should I wake our two Sleeping Beauties?" he asked, jerking a thumb towards Sakura and Syaoran, who were both sleeping soundly.

Tomoyo shook her head hurriedly and quickly swallowed her mouthful of scalding hot coffee. The stream of burning liquid made her eyes water as it burned a trail down her throat to her stomach.

"No!" she gasped, rather more dramatically than she intended, but that was something that tended to happen when one had just succeeded in swallowing what was practically fire.

Eriol jumped and snatched his hand away from Sakura and Syaoran as if he had been burned.

"Okay, okay! I won't touch them!" he said frantically. Tomoyo shook her head.

"Sorry for yelling. The coffee was hot," she explained, and he nodded in understanding.

Tomoyo turned back to the window and Eriol followed her gaze.

"Wow!" he said, when the fact that it was snowing registered with him. "It's snowing!"

Tomoyo smiled as, like a little boy, he ran up and pressed close to the window to see the snowflakes fall down, taking their time about it. Naoko was standing gazing out through the window, nursing a paper cup of horrid, rapidly cooling black tea, transfixed by the dazzling whiteness herself.

"That's unusual, though," Eriol said thoughtfully to Tomoyo, who had moved to stand beside him. "It's November – a little early for such heavy snow. Plus, it was so bright and sunny earlier."

Naoko was the one who answered.

"A little piece of heaven," Naoko said, smiling, "for the new baby."

"Yes! The angels are sending down their feathers for her… Or him," Tomoyo said softly.

…

Syaoran and Sakura didn't get to sleep for long, however – they were given a loud, but not unwelcome, awakening an hour later.

Terada-sensei had burst through the doors into the waiting room of the A&E. Eriol had been so startled by his sudden appearance that he had jumped violently, slopping cold, vile coffee over the sides of his cup and onto his hands.

Terada-sensei's tie was undone, hanging around his neck and his eyes were oddly shiny.

"A healthy baby girl!" he cried, and the four awake adults began to whoop and jump up and down, hugging each other and laughing.

Sakura and Syaoran jolted awake, Sakura looking guilty.

"What did I miss?" she demanded, looking stricken and panicked, not a hint of sleepiness about her despite the fact that she had just awoken.

Syaoran, however, was a different story – his eyes were decidedly unfocused and his voice was muffled and tired.

"Whass goin' on?" he asked blearily.

Everybody else had to laugh.

"The baby's here!" Tomoyo squealed happily. Sakura jumped up and Syaoran followed suit, all traces of grogginess dispelled by the great news.

"That's fantastic!" Sakura cried, hugging her former teacher

"Congratulations!" Syaoran said, pumping Terada-sensei's hand as his wife launched herself upon the poor man.

"They're both fine!" Terada said, unfazed by Sakura's hug. "You can all some and see them, if you like."

"Can we?" the other five asked, sounding delighted.

…

"She's beautiful," Tomoyo whispered as she looked down at the slumbering little girl in her arms. She extended a finger and gently stroked the little girl's head, which was covered in a scatter of fine, dark hair.

"Perfect," Eriol agreed in a quiet tone as he, too, gently touched her head. Tomoyo looked up at him with pleading eyes. Eriol sighed.

"Let's _please _just deal with getting _married _first," he begged. "After all, judging by today, that's quite a big enough job to be getting on with."

"What are you going to call her?" Naoko asked Rika. Rika glanced up at her husband, who was standing at the head of the hospital bed, beside her. They smiled at one another.

Rika turned back to Sakura.

"Well, we were thinking 'Rikka'," Rika said.

"I wanted it because it's like her mother's name," Terada explained.

"Which I really didn't like the idea of," Rika said, scrunching up her nose up.

"But I insisted," Terada continued.

Rika smiled.

"However, he convinced me because," her voice was soft, "it means 'snow'."

"Ah, so it does! Welcome to the world, Rikka-chan!" Sakura said delightedly to the little girl who was now in her arms. Syaoran leaned over Sakura's shoulder to gently stroke the soft skin of her tiny fingers.

Sakura looked up at that exact moment and their eyes met. There was a sharp intake of breath from Sakura when she saw the look in his eyes – the impossibly soft look that made the amber so warm, and all because of Rikka.

"You looked so maternal just now," he said to Sakura, a smile making the skin around his eyes crinkle. Unexpectedly, she blushed at the compliment.

"May I?" he asked, holding his arms out. Sakura blinked, shocked, and glanced quickly over to Rikka's parents.

Rika smiled and nodded.

"Yes, go on, Sakura-chan. Don't look so worried!" she said softly. Sakura smiled sheepishly and gently, slowly, manoeuvred Rikka into her husband's arms. Syaoran's face lit up as the warm weight of the child settled into his arms.

Sakura felt something funny in her heart as she watched him. He held Rikka as though she was the most precious glass and whispered nonsense into her tiny, delicate ears.

She wanted to tell him that he would make a wonderful father someday, but her mouth refused to work.

…

Sakura, Syaoran, Tomoyo, Eriol and Naoko had left Terada-sensei, Rika and Rikka at the hospital. They were heading back to the hotel, but they had gone slowly, reluctantly, because they were loath to leave the beautiful Rikka and her proud parents. There was such an aura of blissful happiness in the hospital room that it held them there, like a magnet. It was understandable that they didn't want to leave.

The snow was still falling against the windshield, harder and faster and more frenzied than before, and the windshield wipers were working faster then ever, a black blur against the haze of falling snowflakes.

Sakura was content to look out the window and marvel at the snow drifting down to the surface of the road, breaking the comforting dark cloak of night. It was peaceful and soothing, and the rhythmic rocking of the car only served to relax her more. She turned away from the window to look at her two companions and concluded that she was really, truly happy.

"Is anything wrong, Sakura?" Syaoran asked her, sounding concerned as he made a neat left. Sakura shook her head, quick to reassure him.

"No," she said, and her words were heartfelt, as was her smile, "everything's fine."

…

"I'm exhausted," Sakura declared after a further three hours at the reception. "How much longer can this thing go on?"

"I don't know," Syaoran responded, "but surely it'll end soon. It's already starting to wind down. People have been leaving in increasing numbers recently."

He paused for a second.

"Of course, that means more work for us – after all, everyone comes to say goodbye and thank us for their invite, and we thank them for coming and thank them for their present, although it will inevitably be one of sixteen identical toasters."

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled.

"How are you holding up?" Arisa asked them when she walked over with her fiancé.

"Oh, Honda-san!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling at their black-haired friend. "How are you?"

"Feeling a lot more sober, now," Arisa said, flashing a grin. "Anyway, Kenji and I just wanted to say goodbye, before we left."

Sakura's face fell.

"You're _leaving_?" she asked, glancing quickly from Arisa's face to Kenji's and back again.

"Afraid so, Li-san," Kenji said apologetically to Sakura.

"Goodbye, Sakura-san, Li-san," Arisa said, hugging Sakura and Syaoran in turn. "Thank you for the invite."

"Oh, it was nothing, Honda-san. I didn't even get to see you very much throughout it!" Sakura said.

"It was a beautiful wedding," Arisa complimented Sakura as Syaoran and Kenji shook hands.

"Thank you. It was lovely to meet you, Kenji-san –" Sakura nodded at Kenji – "and you two have a safe flight home now, okay?"

"We really will have to stay in touch," Arisa said as Sakura shook Kenji's hand. Sakura flashed her dazzling smile.

"Of course! And when you get married, you have to invite us!" Sakura said to Arisa. Arisa nodded.

"You two take care of each other, okay? We wish you all the happiness in the world," Arisa said finally, clasping Sakura's hands in her own for a moment, then the two of them were walking away, calling final goodbyes over their shoulders.

…

Sakura and Syaoran had said goodbye to almost all the guests now, and they were sitting at one edge of the abandoned dancefloor, which bore definite signs of a past party – there were spills of various liquids creating hazardous puddles here and there, and the shiny wood was littered with strands of colored tissue paper from party poppers.

The only guests who remained were Yelan, Fujitaka, Tomoyo and Eriol. Sakura and Syaoran had said goodbye to everyone else over the course of the night. The room seemed oddly empty compared to what it had been, when it was full to the brim with happy, chattering people.

"Now, Sakura, we decided to wait until the end to give you this," Fujitaka said, looking excitedly at Yelan.

Sakura and Syaoran looked at each other, confused. Then the penny dropped, and Sakura panicked.

_PLEASE don't let it be what I told him to tell them not to do… _she thought desperately.

Tomoyo and Eriol smiled knowing smiles at each other – clearly they were in on this.

Yelan and Fujitaka handed an envelope to Sakura and Syaoran, who took it together. They looked at it for a second, then glanced at each other, before looking back at Yelan and Fujitaka, seemingly uncertain.

"Well, go on!" Yelan urged, looking excited. "Open it!"

Sakura and Syaoran looked back at each other. Sakura nodded at Syaoran.

"Go ahead – you tear it this time. I've already had an envelope today," she said.

Her husband began to tear the envelope open carefully. The envelope was heavy – oddly so. When Syaoran opened it, he made a small grunt of surprise.

"What is it?" Sakura asked. Syaoran reached into the envelope and pulled out a silver key.

"It looks like… The key to a house," Sakura said slowly, nonplussed.

Yelan and Fujitaka were beaming so hard at each other with expectation and excitement that it was amazing their faces didn't crack.

"Stop looking so confused!" Tomoyo laughed. "Read the card!"

Sakura reached into the envelope and pulled out a pretty card that read 'Congratulations!'. She opened it and began to read out loud.

'Dear Sakura and Syaoran, you've probably guessed this from the key, but…" Sakura trailed off as she read the next part, forming the words silently with her lips but not saying the words.

She looked up at her father and mother-in-law, her eyes now drowning in disbelief.

"This isn't really… You couldn't possibly…" she said. "It's far, far too much!"

Yelan and Fujitaka just continued to smile.

"Finish the card," Fujitaka told her.

Sakura looked back at the card and continued to read.

"We decided to buy you a home! We hope you have a happy life together in it. Love, Yelan and Fujitaka."

"Since you didn't want a honeymoon, we decided to set you up in a home together instead!" Yelan said cheerfully.

"Oh, oh Yelan-san, 'tou-san, this is too much!" Sakura exclaimed breathlessly as she looked at the key dangling from her fingers.

"I can't believe you did this!" Syaoran exclaimed, looking at his mother. Sakura continued to stare, dumbstruck, at the shining key.

She felt absolutely terrible – the marriage was a fake, and now these two had spent serious money to make sure that they had a home to live in together? Tears filled her eyes at the horridness of the situation.

"Oh, look, Fujitaka-sensei, she's so happy she's crying!" Yelan exclaimed happily as she rushed forward to hug her daughter-in-law.

Sakura forced a smile for Fujitaka and Yelan's sake.

"Yes," she said. "That's it."

…


	34. A Much Loved Goldfish

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty-Four_

_A Much-Loved Goldfish_

"I believe it's traditional for the groom to carry the bride over the threshold."

Sakura and Syaoran were standing at, but not quite in, the doorway of their hotel room. Syaoran had just said the above line, unable to resist waggling his eyebrows at his wife during it.

Sakura fixed him with the most skeptical look she could muster.

"How about we disperse with tradition?" Sakura asked. "Since this isn't even a real wedding or anything," she added.

"Oh, come on! It'll be funny." Syaoran wasn't giving in without a fight.

"Uh, no," Sakura said succinctly.

"Come on! Don't be such a… Such a…" Syaoran wasn't sure how to complete the sentence.

"Sensible person?" Sakura suggested dryly.

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"You, my dear," he began as he lunged forward and scooped her neatly into his arms in one swift, smooth motion, "need to learn to lighten up a little."

"Syaoran!" Sakura exclaimed, doing a good imitation of outrage and beating on his arms with her fists. "Put me down!" But she was giggling helplessly.

Syaoran, laughing himself, put one foot over the threshold and said, "one small step for…"

"Yeah, yeah. We all know how that one goes," Sakura interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Syaoran crossed the room to the massive canopy bed and deposited Sakura among all the rose petals that had been scattered upon it. He laid her down so gently it was though she was made of the most beautiful, most fragile, most precious glass. He looked at her for a second, with what she could have sworn was longing in his gaze, before gently smoothing her bangs out of her eyes.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat as she looked up at him. However, she was determined to stop being so stupid and losing control of herself around him, so instead of doing what her hormones were screaming at her to do (grasp the end of Syaoran's tie, pull him towards her and kiss him mercilessly), she wrenched her gaze away and forced herself to look in the opposite direction.

"L-lovely room, isn't it?" she asked, but her voice was wavering and just a little too high.

"Yes," he acquiesced.

"I-I'm going to bed!" she announced suddenly, moving to get off the bed. "I'm beat! So I'll just get changed in the bathroom, and –"

She stopped short when Syaoran reached out and grabbed her wrist, effectively halting her escape bid.

"You're not going anywhere," he said, and for something that should have sounded like a threat, he said it almost lazily.

Sakura turned back to him slowly, sitting back down on the bed so gradually it was as if she was an image on a television screen being played in slow-motion.

"A-aren't I?" she asked, her voice definitely trembling now. He shook his head and scooted towards her.

"No, indeed you're not," he said, and the deep, husky tone of his voice, coupled with the suddenly hungry look in his eyes, sent a thrill racing down her spine.

She gulped.

"And why might that be?" she asked timidly.

"Because someone owes another someone a kiss…" he explained. "Or six," he added as an afterthought.

"I'm afraid I don't remember –" she began futilely.

Oh God, he was coming closer…

Oh God oh God oh God…

"Oh, but I think you'll find that _I _do," he said, his voice so low it was practically a whisper.

He was taking her face in his hands and her eyes were closing…

She was tilting her face up towards his, waiting for the inevitable, and wanting it, wanting it so bad that she knew it had to be wrong.

She grabbed onto a tendril of sanity at the last moment and her eyes flew open.

"Syaoran!" she began, somewhat breathlessly. "Are you sure this is a good idea –"

Somewhere, in the far, distant corner of her mind that still worked after he practically pounced on her; Sakura mused that Syaoran seemed to think it was a _very _good idea.

…

It seemed Fate decided that they were to have only one kiss, as a few moments later Tomoyo burst into the room.

Without knocking.

To give her credit, though, she only blinked in an interested sort of way when she caught them with their tongues in each other's mouths, looking decidedly rumpled and flushed.

"Oh, Tomoyo-san," Syaoran said calmly after he pulled away from Sakura perhaps a millimetre (just enough so that he could talk, really). He even managed to toss Tomoyo one of his grins.

Sakura had frozen, looking utterly horrified, her hand still gripping Syaoran's tie, her other hand still buried in his hair. Her green eyes were very wide as she looked at Tomoyo.

Tomoyo blinked a couple of more times, this time in a bemused sort of manner, before finally managing to engage her mouth, "I'm sorry."

That was Tomoyo, polite to the last.

"Was I interrupting something?" she asked politely through a sweet smile that looked decidedly forced.

It was at that moment that Sakura remembered both her grip on Syaoran's tie and her grip on his hair, for she squeaked and hurriedly relinquished her hold.

Of course, she was now at a loss as to what to do with her hands, so she simply held them aloft for a second, just looking at them, before folding them neatly on her lap, looking rather more innocent than she was entitled to.

"Not at all," Sakura said hurriedly, before Syaoran could say something more damaging. "Did you want something?"

"Oh, it's just that Eriol has a headache, and I was wondering if you two had any aspirin," Tomoyo said, brilliantly pulling off the manner of someone who was completely unaffected by the shocking thing she had just witnessed, with the airy tone of her voice and wave of her hand.

Then her gaze became more focused and she looked very directly at Sakura.

"Also, I need to talk to Sakura-chan about something Naoko-chan said. It's rather urgent," Tomoyo practically spat the words and spoke in a firm, almost icy tone that said, very clearly, that she was going to get her way and nobody was to argue with her.

Sakura resisted the urge to wince. She was fairly certain Naoko-chan had said nothing of importance to Tomoyo-chan. Instead, she knew that Tomoyo had just invented an excuse to get Sakura out of the room, and she had a feeling she was about to get a very thorough yelling at. However, Sakura wasn't really sure why Tomoyo would be yelling at her. It was just, from the look in those violet eyes of her best friend; she could feel a lecture coming on.

How very odd.

"Sure!" Syaoran said, smiling, looking relieved that it wasn't something worse. "You two girls take as long as you need!"

Sakura clambered off the bed ungracefully in her cumbersome long dress and meekly followed Tomoyo, her head hung low like a child who was about to be scolded.

Tomoyo took Sakura's arm immediately, then turned back to face the still-smiling Syaoran when they reached the door.

"Oh, and you might want to wash your face, Syaoran-san dear," she said, this time with sweet venom, "you have Sakura's lipstick all over your mouth."

Syaoran went magenta.

…

Twenty steps down the hall, Tomoyo suddenly halted and whirled Sakura around. Sakura blinked, surprised, at this development, and also probably at the speed at which it occurred.

"What are you _doing_?" Tomoyo hissed. Sakura's eyes widened and she looked a little afraid.

"Okay, Tomoyo-chan, I know kissing Syaoran maybe wasn't the best idea, but he… He totally… Well, you weren't in the room with him!" Sakura spluttered indignantly.

"Sakura! That's not the point! You shouldn't have kissed him!" Tomoyo exclaimed, looking ready to tear her hair out over her best friend's stupidity.

Sakura made a face that said, very plainly, that she was extremely confused.

And also worried for Tomoyo's sanity.

"Okay, that may be so, Tomoyo-chan, but why is it such a big deal?" she asked.

Tomoyo actually couldn't speak for a few seconds; she was in such disbelief. She stood, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to form words, her violet eyes wide.

Sakura had to fight against a laugh at Tomoyo's comical appearance.

"Did you just say, 'why is it such a big deal'?" Tomoyo asked, her voice shaking along with her fists. She was close to screaming. "Well, I'll tell you why it's such a big deal – RAI!"

Tomoyo had expected tears, or for Sakura to run off, or for Sakura's eyes to take on a look of pain at the mention of _his_ name, but instead….

Sakura burst out laughing.

Tomoyo blinked at Sakura, who was laughing her heart out in front of her. Tomoyo just couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"But… But…" the brunette said, for lack of anything better and less clichéd to say.

"Oh, oh Tomoyo-chan!" Sakura spluttered finally when her laughter eventually abated. She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and leaned on Tomoyo to stop herself falling over with laughter, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Can I tell you a secret?"

"But," Tomoyo said, still not understanding, "you _do _remember that afternoon, don't you? We had just moved into our house together and I came home to find you crying in the bathroom."

Sakura nodded.

"Yes, yes, I remember. Don't worry – I don't have long-term memory loss or anything. I had been studying at Tokyo University for a few years before we moved in together, and you were living in the city that we live in now. We hadn't seen each other all that regularly just prior to that – we got together for lunch twice a month, didn't we?"

"Yes," Tomoyo agreed, looking slightly less worried, "and when I asked you what was wrong that day, you said that your fiancé, Rai, had called you up to say that he had met another woman in Rwanda, where he was working."

"And that was why I was crying," Sakura said. Tomoyo nodded again.

"Or at least, that was the story I told you," Sakura amended. Tomoyo's brows knitted together.

"Okay, what?" she asked. Sakura sighed.

"Tomoyo-chan, that wasn't the reason why I was crying that day," Sakura explained. "The reason I was crying was because –" she paused and blushed at that point, so stupid was the real explanation – "'tou-san called me to tell me that my goldfish had died. My goldfish was called Rai! I made up the thing about the fiancé because I felt stupid for crying over a goldfish!"

Tomoyo began to laugh so hard she felt her sides would split.

"We hadn't seen each other all that regularly up to that point, because we lived in different cities, so I knew that the fiancé story would be okay – you'd barely seen me for ages, so how would you know if I had a fiancé or not?" Sakura attempted to say over both her own and Tomoyo's escalating giggles.

"I know it sounds silly, but I loved Rai so much! He stayed with my father when I went to Tokyo University, because he was three years old, very old for a goldfish, and we thought the stress of the move might be too much for him!" she continued.

Tomoyo wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Do you mean to tell me that I tried to make sure you didn't fall in love with Syaoran all because of a frigging _goldfish_?" Tomoyo asked, still laughing.

But Sakura abruptly stopped laughing at that.

"Hold on a second…" she said slowly, looking at Tomoyo with such a concentrated gaze that the brunette immediately stopped laughing too. "Did you just say that you were going to try to stop me from falling in love with Syaoran? When are you going to see that I don't _need _any help with that – I'll never fall in love with him!"

Tomoyo colored guiltily.

"Sakura-chan, I –" she began, but Sakura interrupted.

"No, Tomoyo-chan, listen to me! When are you going to have faith in me? I'm not some stupid little girl, okay? I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to this – this fake marriage. I can handle it, okay? Have a little faith!"

And with that, she stormed off.

Tomoyo sighed.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, the problem is," she whispered sadly, "I think you've already fallen."

Hiding behind a nearby corner, Meiling and Lei gasped at what they had overheard.

…


	35. Bad Brunch Jokes

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty-Six_

_Bad Brunch Jokes_

Tomoyo heard the two startled gasps and froze immediately.

"Who's there?" she demanded, sounding more than a little panicky. The sound of Meiling and Lei's twin sharp intakes of breath had echoed in the vast, airy, almost-empty corridor and Tomoyo's sharp hearing had picked up the slight noise.

Lei and Meiling glanced nervously at each other. Should they answer, or…

"Don't pretend there's nobody there! I heard you!" Tomoyo said, clenching her fists at her sides. She managed to sound firm and slightly frightened at the same time.

Lei and Meiling looked at each other again and nodded. At the same time, they stepped out from their hiding place and looked sheepishly at Tomoyo.

As soon as she saw them, Tomoyo gasped, horrified.

"Lei-san! Meiling-san!" she exclaimed. She had expected either no answer or a young bellboy bashfully apologising for startling her.

"How – how much did you hear?" she asked, her voice trembling, her mouth suddenly very dry.

"A few incriminating sentences… Basically, we know that this marriage is a fake and Sakura-san and Syaoran-kun don't love each other," Meiling said evenly, a challenging look in her eyes. She shifted Sasuke in her arms, and Tomoyo noticed the little boy for the first time.

"Why," Lei asked, looking confused, "did they get married at all, then? If they knew they didn't love each other before they arranged it, I mean."

Tomoyo sighed.

"It's a very long story," she said with a weary smile.

"We've all the time in the world," Meiling answered.

…

"That," Lei said when Tomoyo was finished, "was _quite _a story."

"Like a soap opera story!" Meiling said excitedly.

"So they're staying together for six months then getting divorced?" Lei asked. He frowned. "Perhaps it was just because they were married, and so I imagined it had to be there, but it seemed to me as though they really loved each other."

Tomoyo nodded.

"Yes, I think there's hope that they may stay together. I think they're in love already, but whether or not they'll choose to acknowledge it…"

She broke out of her contemplative mode and gave them a smile. Then her expression turned mildly worried again, and she asked, "you won't tell anyone, will you?"

Meiling smiled, shook her head, and patted Tomoyo's shoulder.

"Of course not!" Lei said, smiling.

"Maybe we'll even get a chance to help matchmake!" Meiling said as she looked down at Sasuke, who had fallen asleep in her arms.

Tomoyo gave a soft smile.

…

Sakura was walking – or rather, _thumping –_ back to her hotel room. She hoped that everyone around could hear (or feel, through the vibrations in the floorboards) her displeasure. Why, exactly, she was displeased, she wasn't sure. She was fairly certain it wasn't down to her rant at Tomoyo – that had been nothing more than her leaping at the chance to vent some bottled-up frustration than any real annoyance at Tomoyo's supposed lack of faith.

Sakura supposed that her displeasure was down to the stress of the disaster-filled day, which had been building since last night, and also because the horrid enormity of what she had done was just really only recently sinking in. She had just married someone she didn't love, lying in front of over two hundred people in the process, and (as if that wasn't enough) she was going to have to live with him for six months, in their _brand spanking new house._

(And, of course, there was the small matter that she seemed to end up kissing him with alarming regularity, but that _really _did not bear thinking about.)

Sakura kicked the doorframe of a room she was passing.

And not without feeling.

…

"Well?" Eriol asked Tomoyo with a smile when his fiancée entered their hotel room. "What happened?"

Tomoyo gave him a tired smile and shoved a hand backwards through her long hair.

"Too much," she answered. "Basically, Sakura-chan and Syaoran-san are now free to fall in love all they want, as far as I'm concerned."

Eriol smiled and rumpled his hair with one hand, unintentionally mirroring Tomoyo's gesture.

"Well," he said, "that's certainly a good thing, right?"

Tomoyo nodded, yawning widely.

"I'll tell you the rest in the morning," she promised, "but for now, let's just go to sleep."

Eriol nodded sleepily, heaved himself off the wooden chair on which he was sitting, and allowed himself to collapse, exhausted, onto the bed. He immediately began to snore loudly, and Tomoyo couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Her laughing only increased when Eriol slipped off the bed and ended up sprawled out on the floor, fast asleep. As she wiped the tears from her eyes, she had to admit that nobody made everything okay quite like her fiancé did.

…

Sakura threw the door to her hotel room open so hard that it crashed into the wall and sprang back towards her. She was surprised to find the room empty.

"Syaoran?" Sakura called experimentally as she took her high-heeled shoes off. She frowned at the lack of answer before she spotted a note lying on the surface of the comforter on the bed.

She sat down gently on the edge of the bed and began to read.

_Sakura, _it read, _I figured you might want to be alone, in order to get to sleep quickly – you must be exhausted. I'll see you in the morning, and don't worry about where I am, I'm fine! Sleep well, Syaoran.'_

Sakura smiled and flopped back onto the soft comforter, spreading out her arms widely and sighing happily at the idea of going to bed – she'd never heard of something so heavenly.

She looked again at the note and her smile widened. Syaoran could really be quite sweet sometimes.

…

Sakura opened her eyes slowly and blearily; the darkness that obscured the corners of her vision slowly receded as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. She sent a hand through her hair which ruffled the shoulder-length locks in an attempt to make herself feel more alert.

She propped herself up by putting her elbows on her pillows and lifting the upper half of her body. She reached over and lifted her wristwatch from where it lay on the scarlet bedside cabinet, then choked when she saw what time it was.

Why, it wasn't even _morning _anymore!

Although the revelation of the ridiculously late time of her awakening startled her into being more awake, the bed was extremely warm and soft, and Sakura was still so damn tired… It would be so easy to just lie back down and fall back into slumber land – nobody would be expecting them to be at breakfast for ages, on account of the fact that they would have presumed she and Syaoran had been at it like bunnies all night.

Sakura winced at that, and immediately wished she hadn't let herself realize that that was probably indeed what the other remaining guests were thinking.

Still, she mused as she slid back down into the nest of fluffy bedclothes, if anyone started making inappropriate suggestions, she could always pretend that she had slept in so late due to a hangover…

Sakura smiled, content, closed her eyes and turned over on her other side, so that she was facing the other side of the bed.

God, she thought, this bed _is _warm.

Not, of course, that she was complaining. She burrowed closer to the source of the warmth.

That's odd, she thought, this bit of the bed smells a little strange… Like – she paused to inhale deeply again, eyes still closed – a faint hint of cologne, mint and freshly mown grass…

Plus, it _felt _funny, too… The texture of the bed was odd – it was too warm and firm and oh my God, something had just reached out and touched her…

Sakura opened her eyes slowly, her body tensed, ready to scream.

Before she could articulate her fear, however, she realized that the reason the bed had felt and smelled so funny was because it was, in fact, Syaoran lying beside her. The thing that had reached out and touched her had been, in fact, one of Syaoran's arms coming around her, burying her face in his chest, while one of his legs threw itself protectively over her side at the same time.

Sakura flushed. Was he awake? No, he was definitely still very much asleep – he had been moving while dead to the world, was all. He looked so _adorable _when he slept – his brown hair (which had, Sakura noticed, gotten a little longer than he usually kept it, but she thought it really suited him) was splayed against the pillow and his face was flushed, probably due to the heat in the bed (Sakura supposed she looked every bit as pink as he did).

He had not, Sakura was relieved to note, taken the opportunity to make good on his threat and wear nothing at all to bed – he was dressed very respectfully, in a pair of black boxers and his 'may the force be with you' nightshirt.

His t-shirt, Sakura was interested to note, had actually ridden up a little from the top of his boxers during the night… But she hurriedly closed her eyes and moved her head. A lady would never look. But she _was _horribly interested in seeing what was going on under that conservative t-shirt… She bit her lip.

No, no, she couldn't!

And, surprising herself, she was true to her word and instead, fell asleep again.

…

"We're having breakfast at one P.M.," Eriol pointed out wearily as he and Tomoyo made their way down to the hotel dining room. "Isn't that a bit stupid?"

"We're not having _breakfast_," Tomoyo said cheerfully, "we're having _brunch_! French-style brunch!"

"I've never had French-style brunch," Eriol said thoughtfully.

"Well then," Tomoyo pointed out cheerfully, "we're _branch_ing out for _brunch_! Get it!"

Eriol raised an eyebrow at her.

"Tomoyo, darling, I'm sorry, but that was awful," he said. Tomoyo's shoulders slumped visibly.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," she apologised. "That's what I do when I'm tired, though – I make bad jokes. Kick me if I make any more, okay?"

"I know, sweetheart, I'm used to your tiredness-equals-really-terrible-jokes syndrome. Are you really that tired? I mean, I know _I'm_ exhausted," he said. Tomoyo nodded.

"I could have just slept all day," she admitted. "But we had to get up at some point."

"I promise," Eriol said solemnly, "that after we get Sakura and Syaoran moved into their new house, we can both sleep for a week."

Tomoyo gasped, and her face crumpled.

"Tomoyo! Tomoyo, what's _wrong_?" Eriol asked as Tomoyo burst into tears.

"S-Sakura-chan's going to move OUT!" she wailed.

…

When Syaoran awoke he was vaguely aware that he was protectively holding something softer and warmer than bedclothes. He looked down at the still-slumbering Sakura with one eye and smiled.

Still clutching her, he reached over her and picked up her watch from where it lay on the bedside cabinet. When he saw the time, he blinked, surprised. It was almost 2 P.M.

"Really, Sakura, darling," he said softly, "this is getting a little _too _indulgent."

Sakura didn't awake, but simply murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, frowned, and rubbed her cheek against Syaoran's cotton-covered chest. Syaoran had to smile at that.

However, this really _was _getting ridiculous. They had to get up, and the sooner the better.

He began to gently extricate himself from her hold. When he had successfully got out of bed, he turned back to her and tucked her properly back under the covers, drawing them up around her chin. He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and went on to the bathroom.

In defense of his actions, he thought that since there was only one bathroom, only one of them would be able to get ready at the one time, so there really was no point in waking her up yet.

Of course, there was one annoying part of his brain that said, very plainly, that did _not _mean he had to tenderly tuck her back in under the covers in such a soppy manner.

He promptly told that part of his brain to shut up.

…

Luckily for Syaoran, the sound of the shower woke Sakura, so that he didn't have to do the unpleasant task himself.

Unluckily for Syaoran, when Sakura woke up she checked the time, made a sound akin to a choked screech, jumped up out of bed and ran to the bathroom door, hammering on it with all her might and yelling 'why didn't you wake me earlier!' and 'hurry up!' at Syaoran.

Jeez, he couldn't do anything right, could he?

…

Sakura and Syaoran made it out of their hotel room, clean, dry and fully-dressed, fifteen minutes after waking up. They walked down to lunch together, and immediately spotted the right table in the crowded hotel dining room. Tomoyo and Eriol were sitting gazing at their menus, looking like the living dead. Tomoyo's eyes were red.

"Good afternoon," Syaoran said to them as he and Sakura sat down at the table. The other two looked up.

"Good afternoon!" Eriol said, sounding pleasantly surprised.

"Sleep well?" he asked, somewhat dryly.

Sakura and Syaoran smiled sheepishly.

"Where is everyone?" Sakura asked as she picked up a menu of her own from the centre of the table.

"Everyone else went home already," Tomoyo explained. "Well, a lot of people went home last night, and the people who had a hotel room left soon after breakfast."

Sakura looked stricken.

"Oh no! I would have liked to say goodbye this morning!" she exclaimed. Tomoyo waved a hand.

"Don't worry about it – you said goodbye to everyone last night, remember? Besides, everyone understood why you were still in bed," she paused for a second, and let a wicked little grin flit over her face, "notice I said _in bed_, and not _asleep_."

Sakura and Syaoran blushed crimson.

"Tomoyo-_chan_!" Sakura wailed. Tomoyo chuckled.

"What? It's the truth! Yelan was actually here until about an hour ago, and she said the innuendo at breakfast was just ridiculous," the maid-of-honor said as she popped a bit of bread from the bread-basket into her mouth.

Syaoran winced.

"I really did _not _need to hear that, Tomoyo-san," he said.

Eriol rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Tomoyo, I think you've sufficiently embarrassed them. Could you please just concentrate on flagging down that nice waiter and ordering?"

Tomoyo grinned and nodded.

"Anyway," Eriol continued, "I was sorry I missed breakfast, too. Apparently practically everyone had a killer hangover. It sure would have been funny to see everybody slumped over the breakfast table."

Tomoyo shook her head.

"Oh, you didn't miss it," she said, and that wicked smile curved her lips again, "I gave Yelan my video camera last night, so that she could record any messages that anybody had for you two, as I knew Eriol and I probably weren't going to make breakfast, and you two probably wouldn't either. And I dare say she recorded everyone having breakfast, as well."

Eriol shook his head.

"You scare me sometimes, Tomoyo dear," he said as Tomoyo finally managed to catch a waiter's attention.

…

"So where's our new address, anyway?" Sakura asked Syaoran suddenly as their breakfast was brought to the table. Syaoran blinked.

"I don't know!" he said sheepishly after thinking for a second. "Tomoyo-san, Eriol-san, do you know?" he asked the other two.

They looked at each other, just making confused faces at each other, then laughed and said they didn't know either.

"I suppose Yelan-san will know," Sakura mused as she took a bite of her French toast.

"We'll have to move soon," she continued.

"I was thinking tomorrow," Syaoran said thoughtfully.

Sakura choked on her mouthful of breakfast.

"What!" she exclaimed before gulping down half a glass of water to try to stop the choking. "That soon!"

"Yes, that soon!" Tomoyo demanded, her eyes becoming dangerously watery again.

Syaoran shrugged.

"Why not? There really isn't any point in putting it off," he reasoned.

"Well," Sakura said, a finger on her chin, "when you put it like that, I guess it makes sense."

"Aww, look at you two, agreeing all nice and everything. Just like a real married couple!" Eriol joked, only to receive twin death glares in return.

…


	36. Some Things Are Hard To Take

_Butterflies_

_Chapter Thirty-Six_

_Some Things Are Hard To Take_

Kinomoto Sakura had no idea that she possessed so many things. In fact, by the time that she and Tomoyo had finished boxing up all her belongings in preparation for her Big Move, Sakura solemnly vowed never to purchase another item for as long as she lived.

To which Tomoyo replied, "ha!"

…

The packing had started well, with both Tomoyo and Sakura enthusiastic, ready to get to grips with this unpleasant task and determined to be finished within a few hours.

The problem was that, although they began at three P.M. that afternoon, they were not finished until eleven P.M. that night.

This was down to a combination of things. A) Sakura and Tomoyo had underestimated just how much stuff Sakura had, B) they had got increasingly sentimental as they went on and kept having to have breaks to reminisce and cry and C) due to all the painful reminiscing, they got stinking drunk which slowed their progress somewhat.

However, they eventually completed their task and slumped, exhausted, into a heap on the floor, snoring in an alcohol-induced slumber.

…

They were to receive a rude awakening the next morning in the form of both Syaoran and Eriol arriving at the same time in the morning and proceeding, (with what Tomoyo and Sakura considered to be unnecessary cheer and vigour) to awaken Sakura and Tomoyo.

"Oh my God," Syaoran muttered as he and Eriol walked into the girls' living room to see Tomoyo and Sakura sprawled on the floor.

"Yes, what the hell happened here last night? Why aren't you two in _bed_?" Eriol demanded, and with his hands on his hips in indignation, he looked disturbingly like his own dear fiancée when she was on the verge of a fierce lecture.

"Wha'?" said dear fiancée intelligently.

Sakura appeared to be incapable of articulating anything, intelligent or not, as she blinked sleepily and rubbed at her eyes.

"I think _somebody _got spectacularly smashed last night," Syaoran said to Eriol, nodding meaningfully in the direction of the girls. Eriol rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," he sighed, and walked over to Tomoyo, extending a hand to pull her to her feet.

"Ugh," she said succinctly as she wobbled unstably on her feet.

Eriol wrapped an arm around her waist and steered out of the room.

"My head hurts…" Sakura complained as she clutched her head.

"Copious amounts of alcohol will do that," Syaoran said cheerfully as he pulled Sakura to her feet.

"Oh…" she moaned, still clutching her head. "The room's spinning… I feel so dizzy…"

Immediately, Syaoran looked panicked and moved away from her a little.

"Do you feel like you're going to throw up?" he asked, glancing at her warily.

"No, but I feel pretty gross," she said, making a face. Syaoran instantly brightened again.

"Nothing that a shower, some breakfast and some alka-seltzers won't fix!" he chirped as he led Sakura downstairs, extremely slowly.

…

Sakura walked downstairs after her shower, towel-drying her hair vigorously as she went. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs when she saw Tomoyo standing at the doorway to the kitchen, peering in at something going on in the kitchen that Sakura couldn't see.

"Tomoyo-chan, what –" Sakura began, extremely confused. Tomoyo turned quickly around and put a finger over her lips, shaking her head frantically and laughing helplessly. Sakura raised a quizzical eyebrow, but Tomoyo just continued to shake her head and began to beckon Sakura towards her.

Sakura crept towards Tomoyo, and her best friend pointed to the scene going on over the threshold of the kitchen.

"Eriol is trying to make breakfast," Tomoyo whispered for Sakura's benefit.

Sakura peered in through the small gap in the door to see Eriol wearing a black apron and frowning at a pan and a box of eggs in turn. On the counter was a big bowl, with dollops of egg dotted around it.

"He's not succeeding," Tomoyo pointed out the obvious. "But you missed the best bit – he was cracking eggs on the side of the bowl with the funniest look of concentration on his face!"

At that moment, Syaoran walked up behind Eriol. And stopped.

"What on earth are you doing?" he asked. Eriol jumped and whirled around, clutching his chest.

"You scared me!" he said to Syaoran, making it sound like an accusation.

"Sorry," Syaoran replied as he walked past Eriol to examine the mixing bowl. "But, really, just what are you attempting?"

"Pancakes!" Eriol said, more than a tad defensively as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Syaoran raised a deeply skeptical eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, extremely unimpressed. "You call this mess _pancakes_?"

Eriol grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"No, not exactly… More like valiantly _attempted _pancakes," he amended.

Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Well, I can _see _that," he said, then his expression softened. "For the girls?"

Eriol nodded.

"Of course. I thought a good breakfast might help them feel better," he explained.

"Well, then," Syaoran said, "you should have asked me to help. Hand me an apron and I'll gladly assist in fixing this blatant mess."

"Thanks, Syaoran-kun," Eriol said gratefully as he rummaged in a drawer for an apron. "You're a real lifesaver!"

"Mmm…" Syaoran replied distractedly as he inspected the mess of eggs, clearly trying to gauge if any of it could be salvaged. His hand was held out in anticipation of the apron.

For a few seconds, Eriol looked at the last apron in the drawer and tried to decide if he should hand it to Syaoran despite the possibility that he might get it thrown back in his face. He finally decided that it was worth the risk, and Syaoran felt a piece of material be put into his hand.

He simply held it for a second, not looking at it, then shook his head and declared that he would have to throw the entire contents of the mixing bowl into the bin. At that point, he turned his attention from the bowl to the apron in his hand.

And couldn't speak.

He gaped at it for a moment, and then looked up at Eriol.

"Are you serious?" he asked the other man. Eriol shrugged and tried desperately not to laugh, but Syaoran noticed the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably. And he didn't like it.

"It's the last apron in the drawer," Eriol said bravely.

Syaoran sighed and looked up at the ceiling of the kitchen.

"Only for Sakura," he said, and proceeded to pull the frilly pink monstrosity of an apron over his head.

At the doorway, Sakura and Tomoyo looked at each other.

"Did he just say," Sakura began, then shook her head.

"Do you know what?" she began again.

"What?" Tomoyo asked.

"Let's just forget it," Sakura said, then paused to let a devious grin spread over her face, "and enjoy this!"

…

Sakura and Tomoyo proceeded to watch the goings-on in the kitchen for a further fifteen minutes. Syaoran was doing his best to show the klutzy Eriol how to make the pancakes, and he was successful for the most part, if one overlooked the splatters of egg everywhere (including on the two men) and the fact that Eriol, Syaoran and the kitchen were pretty much covered in flour.

When Eriol and Syaoran had put some of the pancake batter into two pans and sat down at the kitchen table to give them freedom to cook, Sakura and Tomoyo decided to enter the kitchen together.

"Oh, hi!" Syaoran said brightly when he saw the two of them.

"Hi, Syaoran," Sakura said, then gave that devious smirk another airing, "pink really suits you."

Immediately Syaoran colored and smacked his forehead.

"I forgot the stupid apron," he exclaimed, and got up to take it off, "I was actually hoping to have it off by the time you two came down."

But Sakura placed a restraining hand on his shoulder, and he paused to look at her.

"No, don't," she said, grinning now, while her tone of voice became thoughtful, "I always hated that apron, but it actually does look kind of good on you."

Which made Syaoran color so badly he was the exact fuchsia of the garment in question.

"Is she serious?" Eriol asked Tomoyo. Tomoyo grinned.

"Don't forget Sakura's incredible attraction to a man who can cook," she said.

At that, Sakura turned around immediately.

"What?" she asked defensively. "Don't you think there's something sexy about a man who can cook?"

Tomoyo grinned again.

"Oh, absolutely…" she purred, looking Syaoran up and down. "And there's _definitely _something to be said for a man who looks sexy in a pink frilly apron."

She looked back at Eriol.

"Of course, there's something undeniably sweet about a man who's completely hopeless in the kitchen, too," she said, and Eriol looked appeased.

"And I never get to see you in an apron…" she continued. "It's extremely…"

"Okay, okay, I don't want to hear the rest of that sentence!" Syaoran interrupted. Tomoyo grinned.

"I'm taking the apron off now," he said, reaching around to untie the strings, "so let that be the end of it!"

Sakura made a definite noise of disappointment.

…

"This is actually quite exciting!" Sakura exclaimed after breakfast as she helped Tomoyo heave another box into the back of Syaoran's car.

"It actually is! I'm surprised," Tomoyo said as she dusted off her hands. "But we're definitely lucky to have weather like this. If the weather was horrible then this would be a completely awful task."

As it was, it was a gorgeous, clear September morning, the sun was shining beautifully and although there was a decidedly crisp, clean feeling to the air, it was certainly not cold.

"When is the moving van supposed to be here?" Eriol asked Syaoran as he closed the trunk of the car, now completely loaded with Sakura's belongings. Syaoran frowned.

"Already," he said. "I don't know where they've got to."

"Perhaps they had trouble finding the place?" Eriol suggested. Syaoran shrugged.

"Possibly. In fact, it might be better this way – if we take the first load in the car and try to find the place, then we can ride with the movers and direct them later," Syaoran admitted.

"Okay, girls," he called to Tomoyo and Sakura, "let's go!"

…

"This is absolutely marvellous!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Somehow," Syaoran said dryly, "I don't think we really need the moving van, after all."

"I can't believe I didn't realise after reading the address!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sakura and Syaoran's new address was number five, Weston Avenue, a lovely, friendly-looking street with plenty of children playing happily in it (no doubt a subtle hint from Yelan and Fujitaka). Their house was spacious and modern, with a neat front garden planted with roses, hydrangea and primroses. Ivy was growing up the red brick of the house, curling attractively near white windowsills.

Around the back of the house was a fully-grown Sakura tree, bare at the moment in the September sunshine. It wouldn't bloom until spring.

The house was beautiful, but there was one odd thing about it…

It had only taken them three minutes to drive there.

The house was only a few streets away from Sakura and Tomoyo's current home.

"Well, I won't have to miss you!" Tomoyo exclaimed cheerfully.

"I really can't believe it!" Sakura laughed as she helped Syaoran, Tomoyo and Eriol with the unloading of the numerous cardboard boxes.

…

As it turned out, the moving van never arrived, and Sakura, Syaoran, Eriol and Tomoyo spent a thoroughly enjoyable day ferrying boxes from Sakura and Tomoyo's house to Sakura and Syaoran's new one.

When all the boxes had been safely moved, the four had looked around the house, which, as it had just been built, had completely bare, simply painted white bedrooms. The kitchen was fully-fitted and very beautiful, all in light wood. There were two wooden chairs in the living room that Sakura had brought with her, and, along with the two single beds in two of the four bedrooms, they were all the furniture in the house.

"We'll have to get all our wedding presents in here," Sakura said at the end of the day, when the four of them were sitting in the living room, all of them deciding to sit on the floor as they balanced their takeaway dinners on their laps.

"I'm not sure the house will be able to hold all three hundred of them," Syaoran pointed out dryly. "Especially with all our clutter as well."

"Oh, that reminds me," Sakura said as she wiped her sauce-stained mouth with a paper tissue, "we didn't move your stuff!"

Syaoran waved a hand.

"I'll get a moving van to collect my stuff, and we'll be able to do it all in one go. It's all sitting in boxes in my apartment."

"But does that mean you'll have to sleep in your apartment tonight?" Sakura asked worriedly. "Because your stuff is there?"

Syaoran shook his head.

"Don't worry, I came prepared – I brought a box of essentials with me."

Sakura looked relieved.

"Good, I didn't want to be here by myself tonight," she said.

Syaoran tossed her a sly look.

"Why? Afraid?" he asked teasingly.

Sakura nodded vigorously.

"Terrified!" she exclaimed. "I mean, there could be ghosts!"

Syaoran sweatdropped.

"Really," he said to Sakura and Tomoyo, "you'd think she'd be embarrassed, wouldn't you?"

"Sakura-chan," Tomoyo said patiently, "there _couldn't _be any ghosts in here, this is a brand new house!"

Sakura considered this for a second, then she said triumphantly, "but Tomoyo-chan, you don't _know _that! This place could be… B-built on an ancient Indian burial ground or something!"

"Actually," Eriol said, a glint in his eye, "I heard that…"

"Shut up, Eriol!" Tomoyo said. Eriol sighed, deflated, and closed his mouth.

"Yes, dear," he said obediently.

…

"Thanks for all your help today," Syaoran said to Eriol and Tomoyo as the four of them stood on the doorstep.

"Oh, it was no trouble, we were glad to help!" Tomoyo assured him.

"Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Sakura said, and Tomoyo had a funny feeling that the newlywed was… Oh, she didn't know what it was. But there was just something about Sakura's smile, something… Uncertain, perhaps? Nervous, possibly?

She shook her head and bid Sakura and Syaoran goodnight, and walked with Eriol down the path and away from the house.

Sakura watched them leave from her position on the doorstep with Syaoran.

She stood there with him long after the other couple had disappeared, until finally she closed the door, and she was alone in the hallway with Syaoran.

She stood there, still, for a second and regarded the boxes piled in the hallway. Syaoran stood silent and motionless with her for a second, and the only sound was their breathing.

Sakura was deeply embarrassed when she felt a tear trickle down her cheek.

She heard Syaoran sigh and his arms were around her in a heartbeat.

"I wondered," he said softly, "when all of this was going to catch up with you."

"I'm sorry for crying," she apologised as she ruthlessly dragged a hand across one of her eyes. "God, I feel so stupid!" she said, chuckling weakly.

"No, no," Syaoran said, shaking his head, "it's okay to cry. You've had an awful lot piled on you in the space of a day. You're not living with Tomoyo-san anymore, and I can only imagine how startling that must be. Some things are hard to take."

Sakura silently nodded her agreement.

"But, you know, everything _will _be okay," he promised.

And, as Sakura stood there, despite the bare, unfamiliar hallway and the darkness falling gently outside, she could feel his heart beat steadily and comfortingly against her own skin, and she found herself believing him.

…


End file.
